Questions Of Equity Research Articles

Ethics and Gender Specificities in Diseases Transmitted by Mosquitoes

Emerging diseases, caused by mosquitoes, affect people asymmetrically, therefore it is pertinent to study this problem with a gender approach, as it is important not only to carry out an epidemiological follow-up of these diseases, but it is also essential to analyze the economic, psychological, cultural and social factors associated with gender in the affectation that they cause or that make women and girls more vulnerable before them. For this reason, gender emerges as an explanatory element of the roles that men and women play in the different spheres: domestic, community, and social, which shape the risks of exposure to these vectors and open prospects for success in prevention, control, and management of these diseases. In this sense, ethics becomes an essential analytical and practical tool to determine that the real inequality between genders and the mechanisms of social discrimination that feed it place women in conditions of vulnerability regarding these diseases; which above all it is a question of justice and equity; therefore ethical.

The Forgotten Legacy of Stella Walsh: The Greatest Female Athlete of Her Time

The Forgotten Legacy of Stella Walsh: The Greatest Female Athlete of Her Time

Where access and benefit-sharing comes from: A historical overview

The international legal system of access and benefit-sharing of genetic resources (or ABS) under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is an ever-evolving field as its material, temporal and activity scope is still under discussion to meet the needs of the advancement of research and development activities as well as the questions of fairness and equity that evolve with them. Activities, such as research and development with digital sequence information (DSI), currently take considerable space in the negotiations and the lack of consensus between the Global North and Global South continues. This paper gets its raison d'être from this lack of consensus and aims to provide a better understanding of the debate around the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources as well as states' sovereignty over their natural resources. As such, the paper provides an analysis of all relevant documents at the international level, starting from the UN Charter to the CBD final text with the hope of reminding the ongoing CBD negotiations why we have ABS in the first place and what the international community historically aimed for when regulating genetic resources at the international level. Looking back at why we had the first legally binding ABS instrument in the first place, and why we thought this instrument would achieve fairness and equity in dealing with genetic resources, will serve the interests of all Parties to the CBD and will hopefully enable them to interpret the provisions based on their overarching aim and reasoning.

Resilience Design in Practice: Future Climate Visions from California’s Bay Area

This study discusses the implications of resilience design for questions of economic and social resilience, and for equity. Resilience design proposals for California’s Bay Area, resulting from the Resilience by Design project and published in 2017, were evaluated through content analysis and interviews with design teams and plan authors. Findings from the study indicate that these proposals offer visions and strategies for large-scale infrastructural projects that rely on a land-as-ecosystem framing to adapt to extreme weather events, but that they also attempt to direct the impact of these ecological processes on surrounding social systems such as planning processes and landscape regenerations for adaptation purposes. However, findings also indicate that the design process does little to address equity beyond proposing access to those new landscapes and green infrastructure spaces, and to a much lesser degree homeownership and labor models for wealth accumulation. Ecology is consistently deployed in the data analyzed to normalize and propose socio-environmental relationships, implicating questions of equity that are often not addressed. These findings matter for urban design projects and processes that are increasingly pursued by municipalities and public agencies in an effort to secure funding and implement strategies for a climate just future.

Enduring Equity Questions: A Sequence Analysis of Citations in Response to Racial Inequity via the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

In this article, we document patterns of local education agency (LEA) disproportionality citations within one U.S. state spanning an 8-year time period immediately following the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to understand the following: (a) how patterns of disproportionality citations manifest over time in suburban locales, and (b) how often LEAs experience and subsequently are able to successfully address a citation for racial inequity in special education outcomes. We descriptively investigated sequence patterns across suburban locales within one state—New York State (NYS), which serves as a representative case for our analysis. We focus on suburban locales because prior research has documented that a school district’s location (e.g., suburban) relates to the time frame within which a school district was able to address a disproportionality citation. In addition, locale-specific characteristics such as segregation in schools and communities and sociodemographic conditions influence the occurrence of racial disproportionality. Our primary questions driving the descriptive inquiry were as follows: How does variation in sequence patterns for IDEA disproportionality citations manifest within and between suburban locales in NYS? What are the policy implications of these patterns? We conclude with specific recommendations for improving IDEA racial equity policy.

COVID-19 Vaccine and the Right to Public Health

Melissa Creary brings together a decade of experience as a health scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, years of extensive field work in Brazil, and her current work as a professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan to provide a comparative analysis of the role culture plays in the efficacy of public health systems in the United States and Brazil. Creary’s interdisciplinary analysis underscores differences in national beliefs about healthcare as a fundamental right and the critical impact of those beliefs when a life-threatening virus spreads rapidly across a population. Questions of health equity and justice, racial and regional disparities in healthcare, state responsibility, and partisan politics permeate her reflections on the ongoing crisis.

“That Wild Month of September”: Addressing Equity and Governance in a School Board Crisis

This case focuses on the Board of Trustees of a large urban school district in Texas, as they worked to decide when learners would have the option to return to in-person learning even as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to affect the community, particularly communities of color. This decision-making process included two back-to-back school board meetings with 6 hr of public comment that suggested a divided community. The case raises questions of racial equity, quality educational opportunities for students, governance, and decision making during a time of crisis. Through a deep dive into a crucial moment, this case highlights the challenging nature of governance during a crisis.

Assessing research methodologies used to evaluate inequalities in end-of-life cancer care research: a scoping review protocol

IntroductionTo provide equitable cancer care at the end of life, it is essential to first understand the evidence underpinning the existence of unequal cancer outcomes. Study design, measurement and analytical...

HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE ‘NEW NORMAL’:NORMALISING THE ‘ABNORMAL’

This article aims to conceptualize the term ‘new normal’ in an abnormal situation such as that of Covid-19. I argue that the politics of the word ‘new normal’ in higher education results in depoliticising the implementation of technology in Indian university context. The article claims that the term ‘new normal’ is a form of violence inflicted upon the public, especially marginalised communities. The paper argues that the term ‘new normal’ trivialises the challenges faced and innocent lives lost due to Covid-19. The theorisation of ‘normal’ and ‘new normal’ is understood within the contesting site of higher education which already has its own challenges. I suggest that higher education was already under attack before the pandemic by neo liberal, and market forces along with hegemonic nationalism. However, the pandemic has made evident new forms of violence. This article brings to the light the question of accessibility, equity, and quality of online education in higher education in the context of the pandemic. This analysis is conducted by engaging with NEP 2020 and its implications of privatisation and technology. The interrelation between online education, privatisation, and neo liberalism allows to interrogate the idea of a university space and how it shifted in Covid-19. Such a critique enables this article to understand the digital divide created by online education. This consequently underlines the concept of exclusion and inclusion in Indian higher education because of the discriminatory nature of the digital divide. Finally, the paper also offers some reflections on the ethical dimension of using the word ‘new normal’ in a crisis situation, especially in the context of Indian higher education domain.

Human and social values in agroecology

Addressing human and social values is a core element of agroecology, including questions of equity and social justice in food systems, supporting autonomy and well-being of food producers, fostering meaningful, dignified forms of food systems work, and reshaping ways of interacting with nonhuman species and ecosystems. In this article, we review peer-reviewed literature related to human and social values in agroecology. We identified a growing social science literature on agroecology and related social theory. We organized and summarized our review around the following themes: social well-being, livelihoods, meaningful work, and gender and social equity. There is considerable evidence that agroecology can improve social well-being, in part through increased food security and improved dietary diversity, which often contributes to culturally meaningful foodways. There is less literature demonstrating how agroecological approaches can increase people’s livelihoods through increased income, reduced dependence on inputs, greater financial autonomy, and increased self-provisioning. In some cases, more embedded local markets build connections between producers and consumers and increase employment. Some case studies of agroecological territories point to the salience of understanding how to shift discourses and support social innovations. While there is evidence that agroecology offers an alternative path away from industrial approaches to agriculture, there is minimal research on the meaningful and dignified nature of that work itself. There is also limited research on gendered implications of agroecology, such as impacts on care work, although emerging literature points to transformative methods that address structural inequities for women and other marginalized groups in agroecological initiatives. There is a small but growing literature on racial inequities and agroecology, primarily in the Americas. Major research gaps include racial inequity and agroecology in different cultural contexts, the health impacts of agroecology, such as through the reduced use of pesticides, and the meaningfulness of work derived from a shift to agroecology.

Stages, Streets, and Social Media

At the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, intersectional feminists in France turned to social media to denounce the racism, misogyny, and sexual harassment that have plagued the French film industry and society at large for generations. Although their activism had started long before the pandemic with the Me Too and Black Lives Matter movements, the online debates they initiated during the March–May 2020 lockdown (when it became illegal to march, protest, or simply gather in public) reached new and larger audiences beyond their own feminist and artistic spheres. Social media posts and actions by Aïssa Maïga, Rokhaya Diallo, Noémie de Lattre, and comedy duo Camille et Justine elicited strong reactions from opposing parties, notably the “masculinistes” and the “féministes identitaires.” This article highlights these artists’ intersectional discourses, along with the verbal violence they endure online, and ponders the question of equity in terms of digital access and literacy.

Developmental profiles of children at risk for autism spectrum disorder at school entry.

Functional abilities in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are highly heterogenous, and impairments can overlap with non‐ASD neurodevelopmental disorders. We compared the profiles of children assessed for ASD with and without an ASD diagnosis using a retrospective cohort study of 101,739 children born in British Columbia (2000–2008). The children were grouped into the following five comparison groups: (1) ASD− (n = 1131), (2) ASD+ (n = 1583), (3) Ministry of Education designated ASD+ (n = 654), (4) special need other than ASD (n = 11,663), and (5) typically developing (n = 86,708). Five developmental domains were assessed using the Early Development Instrument. ANCOVA was used to control for covariates, Tukey's HSD test for multiple comparisons, and Cohen's d for effect size. The ASD− group had slightly higher scores than the ASD+ group with small to medium effect sizes in all domains (d = 0.20–0.48). The ASD− group had slightly higher scores than the Ministry of Education ASD+ group in only three domains with small effect sizes (d = 0.21–0.25). The ASD− group had lower scores in all domains compared to the typically developing group with large effect sizes in all domains (d = 1.12–1.77). The ASD− group received less education funding at school entry than both ASD+ groups. Overall, only small to medium differences in development were detected between the ASD− and ASD+ groups. While these children differ diagnostically, they share similar functional profiles and have substantially more difficulties than typically developing children. Therefore, differences in levels of support at school entry raise critical questions of equity.Lay SummaryComparison of children in British Columbia who have been referred for an autism assessment, with or without a diagnosis, shows similarities in their functional and developmental profiles in kindergarten. Furthermore, both groups of children have more difficulties than typically developing children. However, children who have been referred for assessment without an autism diagnosis receive less financial support at school entry, raising important questions on equity.

Early-Career Teachers Living on School Landscapes Shaped by Equity Policies and Practices: Helena’s and Kristin’s Stories

Before moving beyond the beginning stages of becoming a teacher, one of every two teachers leaves the profession. Hence, for several decades, the recruitment, development, and retention of teachers has been a pernicious problem facing districts, schools, administrators, and school personnel. A productive line of narrative inquiry research has focused on teacher education and development. Additionally, narrative inquiries have focused on teacher retention and attrition. For example, several researchers have narratively inquired into the processes of transitioning out of the profession. In the present investigation, we asked an overarching question, what do beginning teachers need in order to tell stories of staying? And, relatedly, in schools working toward addressing questions of equity, what are the experiences of early-career teachers? And, what can be done to develop and sustain them in their professional commitments? Two novice teachers, Helena and Kristin, both of whom took initial positions in the same district, which had a commitment to promoting equity for children, were interviewed to gather perspectives on their early-career experiences. Both participants shared tension-filled stories from their beginning years as a teacher that created a sense of disequilibrium connected to their developing sense of self. The data analysis pointed to the value that the concept of the best-loved self may have in helping teachers construct their sense of identity. As in the case of Helena and Kristin, this sense of the best-loved self may develop early and can shift over time. For teacher educators, this aspect provides an opening for exploring philosophical commitments within preparations programs with teacher candidates. For teachers and administrators in schools who are intaking beginning teachers, understanding these nascent facets of best-loved teacher self may provide a window into these novice teachers’ motivations. And, these practices may prompt the reconnection to philosophical commitments and aspirations in the day-to-day tug at the fabric of teacher identity.

An equity lens on behavioral science for conservation

AbstractIn recent decades, interest in and application of behavioral insights to conservation theory and practice have expanded significantly. Yet the growth of integrated strategies to adapt and guide human behavior in service of conservation outcomes has included limited engagement with questions of equity and power. Here we examine the use of behavioral approaches in conservation efforts, emphasizing potential misapplications that may result from omitting equity and power considerations. Such omission may lead to an overemphasis on the role of individual behaviors relative to system‐level drivers of biodiversity loss, result in misalignment between behavioral interventions and the actual drivers of behavior in situ, and incur unanticipated negative social welfare and distributional costs, all of which may undermine conservation success. We offer recommendations for centering equity when applying behavioral insights to conservation, including strategies for high‐level agenda setters (scholars, advocates, funders and programmatic leaders) as well as conservation practitioners. The urgent need for biodiversity conservation is insufficient reason to side‐step equity and power considerations; we contend that centering equity is consistent with this urgency and key for developing sustainable conservation theory and practice.

Bicycle advocacy organizations and coalitions’ capacity for equitable programming: Findings from a national survey

PurposeBicycling as a form of active travel (AT) can provide substantial health benefits for all populations, regardless of age, gender, race/ethnicity, or sexual orientation. Despite these known benefits, disparities and inequities in bicycling are still shown in many underserved community populations. Community bicycle coalitions and advocacy organizations are considered to be a key resource for increasing bicycling throughout U.S. communities. This study aimed to understand coalition's capacity (ability to identify, mobilize, and address problems) for programming to underserved populations (racial/ethnic minorities, women, low-income, youth, LGBTQ + communities) in their community. MethodsU.S. bicycle coalitions affiliated with the League of American Bicyclists were invited to participate in an online survey via email. The survey, grounded in a community organizing framework, addressed basic information about the coalition's functioning, community demographics, barriers/desired tools to reaching underserved populations, priorities, important outcomes of coalition's advocacy work, as well as a variety of other bicycle-related equity questions for specific populations. ResultsGeographically dispersed coalitions (n = 71) completed the survey. On average, participants stated a lack of programming in underserved populations compared to the general population, and also stated many barriers/desired tools for reaching underserved populations. On average, coalitions also ranked the importance of equity low, and ranked ‘providing equitable opportunities’ as a low priority. ConclusionThe capacity for delivering programming to underserved populations throughout the community is lacking. In order to address bicycling disparities among underserved community populations, bicycle coalitions should attempt to implement strategies to provide equitable programming.

A question of equity? The ‘value’ of male and female virginity in late 18th and early 19th century Athens

ABSTRACT This article explores marriage payments in late Ottoman Greece through the early years of the independent Greek state and, in particular, the idea of virginity and its value in both men and women. The main focus of the article is the payment known as egenliki, paid by the bride who is entering a second marriage to a groom who has not been previously married. Engenliki is examined in conjunction with the rarer payment of a groom to his bride for her virginity. Through the examination of over 900 surviving dowry contracts from Athens and following the historical trajectory of such payments from the Roman Law to Ottoman Greece, this article argues that such rare payments were symbolic in nature meant to redress what was perceived as an inequality in marriage and possibly to forestall societal disapproval of marriages where only one of the members had been previously married.

SALTWATER / Interconnectivity

This essay examines the recent group exhibition SALTWATER / Interconnectivity co-curated by Katharine Losi Atafu-Mayo and Giles Peterson at the Tautai Gallery in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand (October 16, 2020 to January 30, 2021), including its public exhibition talks, forums, and performance activations. The exhibition was intended to embody the Moana worldview and explore questions of justice, equity, identity, and ecology through newly commissioned work by six multimedia Indigenous artists and designers from the Moana-Solwara (Oceania region): Katharine Losi Atafu-Mayo, Peter Elavera, Te Ara Minhinnick, Shawnee Tekki, Telly Tuita, and Gutiŋjarra Yunipiŋju.

Eco-neighborhoods and the question of locational advantage: A socio-spatial analysis of French ‘ÉcoQuartiers’

In response to the need for ecological transition, a multitude of eco-city and eco-neighborhood initiatives have been instigated around the world. A major challenge has been the charge, captured by terms such as ‘eco enclaves’ and ‘environmental gentrification’, that these initiatives poorly attend to questions of social diversity and spatial equity. In France, too, where since 2008 a major national ÉcoQuartier initiative has been underway with close to 500 projects launched, some have warned against creating ‘écoquartiers bobo’ – urban development catering for a mainly ‘bourgeois-bohemian’ clientele. Consequently, this article investigates whether there may be selectivity at work in the placement of ÉcoQuartiers that favours advantageous locations. To this end, a detailed socio-spatial analysis was carried out with a sample of 214 implemented ÉcoQuartiers. Using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), eight factors were extracted from a comprehensive set of 53 socio-economic and geospatial variables. These were used to compare the sampled ÉcoQuartiers with the overall territory (mainland France and Corsica) as well as with a parallel national urban policy initiative, the ‘Quartiers Prioritaires de la Ville’ (‘urban priority neighborhoods’) which expressly focuses on areas of social disadvantage. As a result, this study reveals several dimensions of locational selectivity, which are discussed in terms of their policy and practice implications as well as their significance for conceptualizing eco-neighborhoods as socio-spatially inclusive places.

Twenty-First-Century Hollywood: Rebooting the System, by Neil Archer

Hollywood has always been a loaded term, one with multiple meanings including a studio system, a standardised form, a global industry, and arguably a national cinema. It connotes film stars and directors, genres, and questions of equity and representation. It is an easy and popular scapegoat for many of the issues facing contemporary culture. Though demonstrably the most prevalent (and therefore widely accessible) cinema in most parts of the globe, critically approaching Hollywood cinema is an increasingly difficult endeavour for myriad reasons, chief of which is its vastness. Programming at American multiplexes continues to be dominated by mid-to-high-budget Hollywood films, meaning that audiences seeking international or independent works must often turn elsewhere.

(Re-)orienting the Concept of Water Risk to Better Understand Inequities in Water Security

As populations grow and climate patterns change, difficult trade-offs in water security must be made. Re-allocation of water resources and re-distribution of water security outcomes will inevitably raise questions of equity. Equity is a central component of water security but often underemphasised, hence we still lack nuanced insights to how equity is understood and operationalised by water managers and users. The concept of risk is increasingly used in water security policy and practise but has been weakly integrated with equity considerations. We offer a contextual study that explicitly unpacks risk and inequity in water security across multiple scales; we have analysed lived water experiences and their hydrosocial drivers in a major river basin in Ethiopia. This is based on 61 interviews from seven rural kebeles, government organisations at woreda, zonal, regional and federal level and local and international NGOs as well as 17 industrial water user surveys. With our findings, and drawing on existing studies, we offer a theoretical framework for embedding water risk in equitable water security considerations. We find that when water risk is (re-)oriented from a biophysical framing, towards one centred on water-related values, it can be suitably embedded within hydrosocial framings of water security. This approach offers unique insights into how inequities are understood, within uneven power and political dynamics, which is critical for interventions that seek to deliver more equitable water security and meet social development targets.