Grassroots Research Articles

Hydromechanical behaviour of a slope reinforced by grass roots under rainfall conditions

Soil bioengineering using vegetation has been considered an environmentally friendly solution to improve slope stability. Although several studies have demonstrated the contribution of vegetation to slope stability, a gap in understanding the mechanisms of grass root–soil interactions under rainfall conditions remains. This study investigates the effects of the roots of vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides) on the hydromechanical behaviour of an unsaturated soil slope using the centrifuge modelling technique. The changes in pore water pressure and slope deformation were monitored during the test. The monitored data were subsequently back-analysed and interpreted using seepage–stability analyses. In addition, this study focused on evaluating the effect of roots on slope stability, considering safety and pore water pressure during rainfall. Results revealed that the vetiver roots remarkably affected the initial suction of the slope by increasing the soil's air-entry value. The increased suction and the additional cohesion provided by the roots enhanced slope stability under rainfall conditions.

COVID-19, social media, algorithms and the rise of indigenous movements in Southern Africa: perspectives from activists, audiences and policymakers.

The COVID-19 pandemic, as a holistic event of cultural trauma, significantly influenced social structures and behaviors globally. Under its impact, social movements leveraged digital platforms to sustain and amplify their causes, creating new forms of solidarity and resistance, and fostering a rise in digital and hybrid collective actions. Concurrently, social media thrived as a transformative tool for social change, revolutionizing communication, mobilization, and advocacy. Platforms like WhatsApp and X redefined traditional activism by enabling rapid information dissemination and facilitating global grassroots movements. This technological evolution has provided marginalized communities, including the indigenous peoples of Southern Africa, with a powerful voice. These communities face challenges such as land rights disputes, environmental degradation, and socioeconomic marginalization. Social media allows them to raise awareness, galvanize support, and engage with a broader audience beyond their geographical confines. The paper hypothesizes that social media plays a multifaceted role in supporting indigenous movements, by not only providing a platform for activists to organize and advocate, but also enabling engagement with the general public and influencing the perspectives and actions of policymakers and other audiences. Through the lenses of rural or indigenous activists who leverage these digital platforms to drive change, audiences who consume and interact with digital content and feeds, and policymakers who are increasingly mindful of the power of social media narratives, this paper aims to understand the complex interplay of forces that shape the trajectory of digital indigenism (indigenous digital activism). The paper employs a mixed-methods approach to investigate the influence of social media on social movements among indigenous communities in Southern Africa. The methodology incorporates (a) netnography and in-depth interviews to explore the experiences and strategies of indigenous activists, (b) the counterpublics framework to understand the formation and dynamics of indigenous digital activism, and (c) the Technology-Media-Movements Complex (TMMC) as a theoretical anchor to analyze the interplay between technology, media, and social movements. The case study of the Community Leaders Network (CLN) of Southern Africa is used to contextualize the findings. Findings reveal that indigenous activists recognize the power of social media in amplifying their voices but use these platforms out of necessity rather than preference. They find social media solutions often misaligned with their contextual needs, citing concerns over platform constraints, privacy issues, cultural insensitivity, superficial engagement metrics, and breaches of consent. Additionally, they reckon that the global emphasis on social media engagement can divert focus from essential field activities that directly benefit local communities, causing social media fatigue. It was also revealed that trying to convey practical information to an audience with preconceived notions is incredibly time-consuming and often feels like an endless loop for indigenous activists. Subsequently, they expressed a desire for platforms that consider users' mental well-being in their architectural design and incorporate cultural and linguistic practices, suggesting a preference for digital environments that are more aligned with values and modes of communication that contrast with western models. The results underscore social media's complex role in indigenous movements, highlighting its empowering potential while also presenting significant challenges due to algorithms and platform dynamics. While the ability to share stories, disseminate information about rights abuses, and mobilize support has significantly transformed social movement dynamics in rural communities, social media's potential for advocacy and mobilization is tempered by challenges that can limit their effectiveness. The findings highlight a pressing need for social media innovations that resonate with indigenous cultural identities, ensuring that their narratives are disseminated in a manner that faithfully preserves their authenticity. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for policymakers, activists, audiences and technology developers, emphasizing the importance of creating digital spaces that are culturally sensitive and supportive of indigenous activism.

Discourses of solidarity and resistance in alternative linguistics spaces: Galician improvised poetry as linguistic collective action

AbstractThis article focuses on alternative ways of understanding language in the context of minority language advocacy through an examination of the Galician tradition of singing‐in‐verse, known as regueifa. It proposes the notion of “linguistic collective action” to refer to the battery of resistance and solidarity strategies that lead to social transformation, implemented in grassroots movements linked to language struggles that not only go beyond the binary tropes of “pride” and “profit”, but also transcend traditional ideas of how language revitalization should be carried out. To tap into the dynamics of this social movement, we draw on a multi‐sited ethnography of the interconnected spaces in which urban‐based Galician speakers engage in collective action through the practice of regueifa. We examine how progressive values (e.g.: LGBTQ+ advocacy, feminism, and anti‐neoliberalism) are intertwined with the use of minoritized language reclamation, acting as a trigger for social transformation.

Austerity Infrastructure, Gentrification, and Spatial Violence: A Ceaseless Battle over Urban Space in Exarcheia Neighbourhood

AbstractIn this paper, we aim to understand how long‐term state neglect of public infrastructure coexists with a renewed emphasis on profit‐driven infrastructure development in urban contexts. We focus on Exarcheia, an Athens neighbourhood known for its radical character, where a lack of public infrastructure investment aligns with plans for new transport infrastructure and urban regeneration. Using a participatory action research approach and engaging in collective discussions with grassroots organisations opposing these plans, we argue that prolonged austerity following the 2008 economic crisis has redefined state‐funded public infrastructures, aligning them more closely with the speculative interests of real estate, commercial, and infrastructure capital. The interplay of austerity infrastructure, gentrification, and spatial violence manifests as a form of slow urbicide, paving the way for revanchist urban regeneration that prioritises the commercial exploitation of urban space at the expense of the historical, political, and cultural identities of affected neighbourhoods.

Decolonizing Language in Education Policies of Nepal

Nepal has never been formally colonized; however, it struggles with the intricate effects of both internal and foreign linguistic colonialism, which has resulted in the marginalization of several indigenous languages in the formal educational system. The present paper explores how language education policies are changing in Nepal, a country with a wide variety of languages. This qualitative study used phenomenology as a research method and purposively selected four government aided school teachers as participants. Tool for data collection was interview and the findings showed that English is a dominant language in education policy though the constitution of Nepal allows mother tongue or national language i. e. Nepali to be the medium of instruction in the government schools. The study explored the expanding decolonization movement in language in education policy, led by communities, educators, and grassroots activists. The goal of this movement is to establish a more fair and inclusive learning environment from supporting the acknowledgement and integration of indigenous languages in formal education. The paper explored the historical mechanisms of linguistic colonialism in the educational system, examining the prioritization of dominant languages over indigenous languages and the resultant exclusion of the latter. The study concludes by outlining the current changes being made to Nepal’s language education regulations and highlighting the importance of linguistic inclusion as a driver of social cohesion and cultural preservation. By providing insights into the problems and possibilities of incorporating indigenous languages into formal educational systems, the research adds to the larger conversation on decolonizing education.

A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY ON KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE REGARDING MENSTRUAL HYGIENE AMONG FEMALE NURSING STUDENTS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Objectives: Menstruation, though a normal physiological process in the females of reproductive age group, is surrounded by various misconceptions and social taboos. Inadequate knowledge and unhygienic menstrual practices can adversely affect female health. Poor menstrual hygiene practice has been negatively associated with infection of the reproductive and genitor-urinary tract, cervical cancer, absenteeism from school, or drop-out, poor academic performance, lower self-esteem, and poor quality of life. We conducted this study to evaluate the knowledge and practices regarding menstruation in female nursing students in a tertiary care hospital. Methods: An observational, cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted over for three months on female B.Sc nursing students in the first year to the fourth year through face-to-face interview at the department of Pharmacology in a tertiary care hospital. Data regarding socio-demographic profile, knowledge of obstetric and gynaecological factors, perception of menstruation, and hygienic practice of the participants during their menstruation were collected. Results: Responses from 165 participants were analyzed. The mean (± SD) age of the students was 19.64 (± 1.09) years. Most of their parents had education up to a diploma and above (47.27% among mothers and 70.9% among fathers). The majority of the participants used to experience dysmenorrhea (52.72%) and had pre-menarcheal ideas about menstruation (78.18%). Mother was the most common source of information (54.54%) followed by teachers (16.96%) and media (13.33%). The majority knew the source (89.09%) and cause (100%) of menstrual bleeding. A considerable portion (45.45%) thought menstruation as the sign of conception. The majority (96.36%) used commercially made sanitary pads, and used to dispose of the used sanitary pads in the dustbin (98.19%) by wrapping them with paper (98.19%). Conclusion: Present study found an encouraging picture regarding knowledge and hygienic practices during menstruation among the participants. Education about menstrual hygiene needs to be imparted at the grass root level. In this regard Anganwadi and health care workers, teachers and media can play a major role. All mothers need to be taught about the importance of hygienic practices during menstruation, convey correct information to their daughters, and should be encouraged to break the age-old myths and taboos associated with menstruation.

The Comparison of Performance of Root Vetiver Grass Between Coconut Fiber and Eggshell Toward Slope Stabilization

Slope stability using vegetation has emerged as a more environmentally friendly and sustainable solution for slope stabilization, replacing traditional structural engineering methods and shotcrete cover. However, despite the application of Vetiver grass, failures in the form of deformation, cracks, and slope collapse still occur. The main objectives of this study are to identify the root properties and analyze the mechanical properties of Vetiver grass with coconut fiber and eggshell fertilizers. Laboratory testing was conducted to determine the mechanical properties of Vetiver grass roots using shear box and universal testing machine. As a result, the root diameter and root length with egg shell exhibit larger values than coconut fiber for 21 days (0.40 – 1.27 cm) and 35 days (11.5 – 61.4 cm). The direct shear test results for Vetiver root with eggshell showed highest shear strength which is 43.67 kN/m2 (21 days) and 168.17 kN/m2 (35 days) compared to Vetiver root with coconut fiber which is 42.94 kN/m2 (21 days) and 61.13 kN/m2 (35 days). For tensile strength, the Vetiver root with egg shell consist higher value which is 0.066 N/mm² (group 1) and 0.068 N/mm² (group 2) compared to Vetiver root with coconut fiber which is 0.059 N/mm² (group 1) and 0.060 N/mm² (group 2). Additionally, in group 1 and 2 of 35 days, eggshell fertilizer showed higher maximum tensile strength, measuring 0.071 N/mm² and 0.094 N/mm², respectively. While, coconut fiber fertilizer 1 and 2 recorded lower tensile strengths of 0.063 N/mm² and 0.062 N/mm², respectively. The significance of this study indicates that the eggshell fertilizers have greater impact towards Vetiver root than coconut fiber fertilizers and without fertilizer.

Trusted networks: a study of communication flow and access to abortion information in Argentina.

In December 2020, Argentina approved a new abortion law following decades of feminist and social advocacy. This paper presents qualitative findings from interviews and focus group discussions with people in local communities focusing on how individuals of reproductive age access and communicate sexual and reproductive health information, particularly regarding abortion. Sixteen in-depth interviews were conducted with key informants working in the field of SRHR and four focus group discussions took place with cisgender women and girls, transmasculine people and non-binary people of reproductive age. We found that information exchange and communication about sexual and reproductive health issues, particularly abortion, took place mainly through informal social networks engaging with activists and feminist grass-root organisations. These informal social networks were built on trust as a collective affect that enabled open communication about abortion. Information sharing through word of mouth, in person and via digital means using different social media platforms, is an important means of information sharing and communication in Argentina. Monitoring the implementation of abortion policies in this country should include investigating the impact of people accessing abortion through informal social networks in terms of abortion pathways and intersections with the formal health system.

Plotting Cryptoeconomic Imaginaries and Counterplotting the Network State

In this paper I critically conceptualize and analyze what I call “cryptoeconomic imaginaries” in economic geography via Sylvia Wynter’s concept of “plotting” as praxis. I define “cryptoeconomic imaginaries” as the multiple contesting ways in which blockchains and cryptocurrencies are used as a core plot device in reimagining, reshaping, rewriting economic relationships with people, ecologies, spaces, and temporalities. In addition to opening the potential to dream new economic futures, blockchain also has the potential to conscript people to imagine new futures under the parameters of cryptoeconomics, and/or foreclose certain futures from coming into being. The main goal of this paper is to present (counter)/plot work as a conceptual theoretical framework and geographic method of analysis for critical scholars to better understand cryptoeconomic imaginaries, their varied socio-spatial implications and power-geometries to question how future economic plots may come into being and who stands to benefit, specifically in the context of “network state” connected projects funded by Promonos Capital. I propose (counter)plot work as a method to examine: 1) plotting as narrative/literary/rhetorical formation of cryptoeconomic imaginaries; and 2) cryptoeconomic imaginaries plotting the development of literal plots of land and crypto cities. I conclude by suggesting counterplotting as decolonial praxis for (post)plantation refusals of land monopoly, resisting extractive development, and a way to value to land and lives outside of pure profit motive, as inspired by ongoing grassroots activism and community coalitions against cryptocolonialism in Puerto Rico

ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION FACTORS AND ADULT LITERACY LEARNING OUTCOMES IN RWANDAA CASE OF GICUMBI DISTRICT

The research assessed adult education program implementation factorsand adult literacy learning outcomes in GicumbiDistrict, Rwanda. Specifically, the research identified teaching methods that affect adult literacy learning outcomes in GicumbiDistrict, Rwanda, established the extent of adult literacy learning outcomes in GicumbiDistrict, Rwanda and assessed the relationship between adult education program implementation factors and adult literacy learning outcomes in GicumbiDistrict, Rwanda. The population in this study consisted of 4625 respondents, while their sample size was 368. Sample size determination was done by using Yamane formula.Descriptive survey design was adopted by the researcher as the study wanted to obtain insight for basic information provision in the study area. This study used questionnaire, interview, and observation to gather data. The questionnaire was administered to instructors and learners while the interview was given to District Director of Education, District Education Officer and Sector Education Officers. It usedpurposive, simple random sampling and stratified methods. The data of the study were analyzed in tables and charts by relying on descriptive statistics. The researcher used statistical tools like means, percentages, standarddeviations, correlation coefficients and coefficients as regression models.IBM SPSS Version 21 was used to organize and summarize data with accuracy and finding evidences assurance. Both quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used, including content analysis. Regarding the first objective, results indicate that 74.9% strongly agreed that their instructor puts them in a small group to complete tasks, 64.2% strongly agreed that they take an active role in their learning by setting their own goals, 75.6% strongly agreed that their instructor uses games to increase their motivation, and 88.1% strongly agreed that they act out specific roles to learn different concepts.The implication of this is that the instructors use learner-centered teaching methods in order to improve adult literacy learning outcomes. For the second objective, 86.6% strongly agreed that improved learners living standards indicate adult literacy learning outcomes 74.9% strongly agreed that an increased number of small businesses indicates adult literacy learning outcomes 75.6% strongly agreed that increased digital communication indicates adult literacy learning outcomes and 63.2% strongly agreed that improved health practices indicate adult literacy learning outcomes. Results on the effects of teaching methods on adult literacy learning outcomes in public adult literacy centres in Gicumbi District. The study revealed a strong positive relationship between group learning, self-directed learning, and role-playing, as well as between game-based learning and improved learners living standards, small business growth, and digital communication. The positive correlation was less than 0.05, indicating that adjustments in group learning and self-directed learning positively impacted these factors. The study also found a significant positive correlation between game-based learning and improved learners living standards, small business growth, and high attractiveness rate. This implied that there is a positive correlation among adult education factors and adult literacy learning outcomes. The Pearsons p value was than 0.05. The researcher recommended that the Ministry of Education should provide robust government, support, clear guidelines, and infrastructure for adult education programs. Rwanda Basic Education Board should involve NGOs and local communities and authorities in monitoring and evaluating the functioning of adult education at grass root level. Gicumbi District should use quality materials, well-trained teachers for improved effectiveness.

Climate Action and the UNCRC: A ‘Postpaternalist’ World Where Children Claim Their Own Rights

In this paper, it is argued that we are in a ‘postpaternalist’ era for children’s rights, involving grassroots action from children (for the first time, on a global scale) rather than well-meaning adults ‘giving’ children their rights. Child/youth climate action has involved under-18s acting for the environment through grassroots protest, media work and lobbying. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has arguably to date been approached in a paternalist way, whereby children need adults to help them to access rights. Yet, child/youth climate advocates have taken their own action, and demand equality as they enter rights spaces. They are frequently working with adults as equals and allies in litigating climate cases, for example. It is argued that (although there are rights challenges in a postpaternalist time) these young rights leaders have transformed human rights for the better, and adults should facilitate their work in a way that is child- and youth-friendly.

Increasing Role of Social Work Interventions in Maintaining Community Health

Community social workers seek to create an inclusive atmosphere in which inhabitants feel integrated and empowered. They understand that people can work together to improve their conditions by leveraging their expertise and skills to solve problems and effect change. Social professionals have a wide range of opportunities in community development. Some work directly with individuals, couples, or groups. Others operate at the local level, while others work for national or international organizations. They can work for social service agencies, non-profits, or grassroots organizations.

FERTILITY CARE IN LOW AND MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES: Implementing fertility care: insights from a participatory workshop in The Gambia.

The Gambia, West Africa, has made recent progress on infertility, a component of sexual and reproductive health that is lagging behind others. Since 2016, there is favourable policy environment stemming from infertility research and partnership building with national stakeholders and local civil society organisations focussing on infertility. Here, we report outcomes from a participatory workshop on infertility policy implementation in The Gambia and provide insights on setting national priorities for fertility care in resource-limited settings. We conducted a participatory workshop involving 29 participants from Gambia's public and private health sectors. Using selected participatory group work tools, stakeholders identified and prioritised key activities within the framework of five pre-defined areas of action, including (i) creating guidelines/regulations; (ii) recording/reporting data; (iii) building public-private partnerships; (iv) training health providers; and (v) raising awareness and health-seeking. A total of 17 prioritised activities were proposed across the five action areas, according to short-, medium-, and long-term timeframes. Three were further prioritised from the overall pool, through group consensus. A group model building activity helped to envision the complexity by elucidating links, loops, and connections between each activity and their expected outcomes. The participatory workshop identified actionable interventions for fertility care in The Gambia, with stakeholders setting a clear path ahead. Despite challenges, the continued engagement of Gambian policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and activists in efforts to move beyond policy creation to its implementation is essential. Improving fertility care in The Gambia and other low- and middle-income countries is feasible with effective collaboration and financial support. In The Gambia, a partnership of stakeholders from various domains, including research, grassroots activism, clinicians, and policymakers, contributed to an increased awareness of infertility. This, in turn, led to the inclusion of infertility in the national reproductive health strategic plan. An in-country participatory workshop involving participants from both public and private health sectors was held in October 2023 with the objective of identifying priorities for moving beyond planning to implementation, within the context of resource constraints. The top three identified priorities were: (i) training about infertility for health providers; (ii) harmonisation of data collection; and (iii) the development of clinical guidelines for infertility management. It is important for the Gambian Ministry of Health to implement these proposed locally relevant fertility care activities. Despite current and future challenges, having a clear vision and pathway will help establish fertility care in the country, with Gambia potentially leading the way among many other countries.

Shenzhen’s Policies on Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritance and Practices of Digital Dissemination

This paper examines the protection and transmission of intangible cultural heritage in sports dance within Shenzhen, focusing on specific practices such as the Longgang Dragon Dance, Bao'an Qilin Dance, Longgang Qilin Dance, and Nanshan Yi Dance. Through comprehensive field investigations and direct interviews, it explores the current state of intangible cultural heritage preservation and transmission in Shenzhen. The analysis details the implementation of relevant policies and identifies that the potential contributions of online communities and grassroots organizations in promoting the conservation and inheritance of these cultural forms remain underexploited. The study proposes that heritage custodians more systematically leverage digital technologies to enhance the propagation of intangible cultural heritage. This, in turn, will foster the high-quality development of Shenzhen's cultural heritage.

#SpendYourSummerInGeorgia: popular geopolitics, grassroots activism and tourism marketing against Russia

ABSTRACT This article demonstrates the broad-spanning ramifications of tourism marketing in geopolitics and proposes viewing civilian-led social media destination branding campaigns as novel yet important forms of popular geopolitics. The case is the #SpendYourSummerInGeorgia campaign created by Georgian grassroots activists in 2019 following a politicized travel blockade issued by the Kremlin preventing Russians from entering Georgia. #SpendYourSummerInGeorgia was designed to counter the blockade, soliciting an alternative, pro-Western and European tourism audience. It enabled citizens to engage in their country’s foreign relations – a space historically reserved for political elites – yet one now accessed through tourism marketing. This campaign also shaped representations of Georgian collective identity, including those linked to Europe and the Soviet Union, thus ordering social, cultural and political values in the country. Contributing to literature across popular geopolitics, tourism geographies and nation branding, this article uses content analysis and semi-structured interviews to show how tourism was not only impacted by geopolitics but also became its very medium. As popular tourism marketing enters the messy world of geopolitics, this case demonstrates how the stakes for cultivating a strategically favourable collective identity are high, calling for those studying popular geopolitics to have their radar attuned to tourism.

ICT Use and Entrepreneurial Mobilization of Chinese Grassroots Activists In and Beyond Cyberspace

While prevailing scholarship commonly asserts that information and communication technologies (ICTs) significantly facilitate mass mobilization, a growing body of literature questions the mobilization potential of technologies alone. This literature proposes that ICTs might redirect offline participation by promoting low-risk and low-cost online collective actions, especially in the absence of linkage between offline and online tactics. In the context of these debates, this article explores the nuanced synergies between the online and offline mobilization strategies of individual activists and their underlying motives. It does so through an in-depth ethnographic case study of popular protest mobilization in a Chinese locality. Through an integration of the traditional entrepreneurial mobilization model with the concept of mediatization, this study delves into the intricate mobilization strategies and underlying motives of activists. The findings reveal that through a strategic convergence of offline and online tactics, including extension, amalgamation, and substitution, activists adeptly choreographed and presented protest repertoires, thereby fostering the development of mass mobilization. The research posits that the efficacy of ICTs in mobilization is contingent upon activists’ adeptness in leveraging the norms and practices of ICTs to pursue collective objectives suited to social contexts, thus circumventing the pitfalls of “clicktivism.”

The grassroots and citymaking in the Middle East: The agency of tactical participation in Amman, Jordan

ABSTRACT In Middle Eastern contexts, like Jordan, the public participation spaces referred to as “invited spaces” for state-led participation are heavily controlled by the state and its representatives. This paper explores the various ways in which grassroots and civic organizations navigate and sometimes manipulate the state apparatus’ planning rules and grids to create alternative modes of meaningful participation in the production of the city. Following the Arab Spring in 2011, local grassroots organizations started adopting “new languages and taktikat” (تَكتِيكَات,’ tactics in English, words used by the grassroots to describe their practices) that allowed them to move beyond direct confrontation with the state in the so-called “invented” spaces of participation led by civil society. Building on de Certeau’s notion of “tactics,” this paper looks at these approaches as tactics used by grassroots to negotiate power and participation within neoliberal top-down authorities. Ultimately, it argues against viewing grassroots initiatives solely in terms of a binary lens of legality/informality or “invited”/“invented” dichotomies, as they neither function as insurgents nor remain passive.

Abstract A124: An examination of trust in biomedical research among the Witness Project’s community health workers

Abstract The Witness Project® (NWP) was established in 1991 and has maintained its status as one of NCI’s Evidence Based Cancer Control Program (EBCCP) for decades. NWP is a self-sustaining, culturally competent, grass roots level community-based intervention program that uses breast and cervical cancer survivors known as Witness Role Models and Community Health Workers (CHW). With many locations in unserved communities throughout the United States, NWP provides relevant cancer related education and navigates minority residents through successful completions of cancer related screenings. Health disparities are a longstanding problem due in part to underrepresentations of historically underserved populations in research. Increasing minority and underserved individuals’ participation in research has great disparity mitigating potential. A team of newly trained Black and Hispanic NWP CHW (n=25) will be created as part of a larger multiphase preliminary pilot study designed to increase diverse individuals’ participations in research within Roswell Park’s catchment area. Design, Measures, Setting, and Participants. The primary objective of this cross-sectional study is to assess Black and Hispanic CHW’s trust in biomedical research. Secondary objectives are to explore the feasibility and acceptability of 1) NWP CHW training, and 2) an informal educational intervention about the importance of minority representations in research and it potential to mitigate health disparities. CMWs will complete the Perceptions of Research Trustworthiness (PoRT) scale to evaluate their trust and distrust in biomedical research before and after viewing the informal educational intervention. Preliminary Results and Planned Analyses At the time of abstract submission nineteen CMWs have completed their NWP and CITI training and PoRT assessments. Fifteen CHWs were Black (78.9%) and four Hispanic (21.1%). When all 25 CMWs are trained we will calculate overall and individual item Trust and Distrust subscale scores. Regarding feasibility and acceptability of the CHW training and the informal education intervention, semi structured interviews will provide qualitative feedback and independent samples t-test will be used to compare pre-and post-informal education intervention PoRT scores. Citation Format: Julia Devonish, Martin Mahoney, Elizabeth Bouchard, Cassy Dauphin, Abshiro Ali, Veronica Meadows, Jomary Colon, Dee Johnson. An examination of trust in biomedical research among the Witness Project’s community health workers [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 17th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2024 Sep 21-24; Los Angeles, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2024;33(9 Suppl):Abstract nr A124.

Care as a constitutional value

Abstract This article explores the potential of regarding care as a constitutional issue, rather than addressing it solely through legislation, the family, or the market. It is argued that care is best regarded as a constitutional value, reflecting the reality of our interdependence, and functioning as a crucial counterweight to the fiction that individual freedom can be constituted independently of our social relations. Care as a constitutional value should be regarded as complementing express constitutional commitments to freedom, dignity, and equality, recognizing that relationships are constitutive of the self, and that individuals are partly constituted by society. Just as freedom, dignity, and equality perform important expressive functions in a constitution, so the recognition of care, implicit or explicit, signals the foundational importance of care to everyone throughout our lives and to society’s ability to reproduce itself. Care as a constitutional value should permeate the interpretation of constitutional and other provisions, and enhance accountability for care-related decisions, encouraging decision-makers to pay attention to care, and prompting courts to interpret constitutional and legislative measures with the value of care in mind. In this way, the gaps in welfare law, labor law, and free market regulation can be addressed to face the challenges of care. Equally importantly, care as a constitutional value can act as a catalyst for political activism, legitimizing grassroots campaigns for better recognition of care. This article is normative and exploratory. At the same time, its propositions are tested against constitutional jurisprudence in India, South Africa, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Measuring the transition to regenerative agriculture in the UK with a co-designed experiment: design, methods and expected outcomes

Abstract Regenerative agriculture is promoted as a farming system that can improve agricultural sustainability, address soil degradation, and provide ecosystem service benefits. However, there remains limited evidence for the quantifiable benefits of a widespread transition to regenerative agriculture on soil, biodiversity, and crop quality, particularly at the landscape scale, and poor integration of findings across disciplines. Social and cultural aspects of the transition, such as the positioning of regenerative agriculture as a grassroots movement, farmers’ perspectives on defining regenerative practices, and social or political barriers to implementation, are harder to quantify and often overlooked in evidence-based approaches. 
Here, we present the detailed methodology for our interdisciplinary, co-designed landscape-scale experiment measuring changes in soil health, biodiversity, yield, and grain quality, as well as social and political dimensions of the implementation of regenerative practices. Our unique approach, through the co-production process, the landscape-scale, and the focus on a systemic transition instead of individual practices, will bring strong evidence of the benefits of regenerative agriculture for sustained agricultural productivity, the mitigation of climate change and biodiversity depletion in agroecosystems. Our research aims to guide future studies transforming theoretical ecology into testable hypotheses in real-world systems and provide actionable evidence to inform agricultural policies in the UK and beyond.