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Household food security and income play central roles in sustainable development at the global, national, and local levels. Smallholder vegetable farming systems are widely regarded as crucial contributors to enhancing household food security and income in the developing world. Comprehensive whole-farm analysis of smallholder vegetable farming systems points out greater diversity and heterogeneity driven by interactions of socioeconomic and biophysical factors such as land profiles, land use, farm assets, enterprise income, off/non-farm activities, and household structure and expenditure. However, three distinct farm typologies exist (Resource and Livelihood Constrained Off-farm Dependent/Supplemented–RLCOD farmers, Resource and Livelihood Abundant and Commercial Oriented–RLACO farmers, and Medium Resources and Livelihoods Constrained Market Oriented–MRLCMO farmers), exhibiting significant differences and variability in structural and functional factors. The production of maize, groundnuts, soybean, and bean crops remains the primary source of livelihood for all farm typologies. Similarly, vegetable production is vital for farmers’ livelihoods in all farm types, yielding more income than food needs. However, both crop and vegetable productivity and production are still low and below the national and potential target across farm typologies. Small-scale irrigation offers one alternative solution in the context of increasing climate change. Small livestock (chickens, goats, and pigs) play a significant role in the livelihood of vegetable farmers despite their low productivity. Disparities exist across farm typologies in available arable and irrigable land, available household labor, capacity to hire additional labor, farm assets, and inputs, as well as participation in off-farm and non-labor-farm activities. While vegetable production and its proportion sold and earned income emerge as critical factors affecting household food accessibility and acquisition, additional factors such as crop production, proportion of crops sold, daily food expenditure, livestock income, and TLU significantly influence household access for different farm typologies, requiring consideration to achieve food security in vegetable farming systems.

Research on children's literature focuses on preschool children's books (children aged 3-6) and on juvenile fiction, yet is lacking in studies on toddler books (ages 0-3). In this paper, I present a definition of the genre of "toddler books" (often referred to as "boardbooks," despite it including non-boardbooks), while focusing on the illustrational aspects, that are at least as dominant as the written texts, if not more so. I also examine the plots and themes that are presented in toddlers' books, distinguishing between "concept books" (lexical books with no narrative), "ritual books" (which engage in instilling certain habits), and "narrative books" (toddlers' books that depict a complex narrative and serve as preparation for prereader books). The findings of the study indicate that toddlers' books are often infants' first encounter with both narrative thought and visual art, hence their significant place in their development.

In 2017 the Uganda Police Force (UPF) issued a Strategy for Community Policing (COP). The aim of the strategy is to provide a framework for the operationalisation of COP in the country. COP in Uganda is viewed both as a philosophy and an organisational strategy aiming at promoting new partnerships between the police and the community. This research examines how the UPF applies the COP strategy in Gulu Uganda to create new partnerships between the police and the community as part of the preparation for transforming Gulu into a city in Uganda. Anchored in qualitative research conducted in 2018–2019 in Gulu municipality, we examined COP in theory and practice. We fleshed out the different COP interventions installed by the police, observed how these applications of COP are perceived by the community and local leadership, and evaluated the extent to which these applications and perceptions contribute to creating new partnerships between the police and the public, as well as how these constitute an operationalisation of the UPF strategy for COP. There are several interventions labelled as COP in Gulu, including joint patrols, Mayumba Kumi, sensitisation activities, and partnerships with NGOs. Most of these applications are ‘old wine in new bottles’ and do not qualify as attempts to create new partnerships between the police and the public. In linkage to the mode of governance exercised by the Government of Uganda, the data collected indicates that the public at large still views the police as a corrupt, unpredictable, and a violent force that serves the interests of elites rather than a public service. As long as the police is viewed in such a way, it is difficult to create meaningful partnerships between the police and the public, and subsequently it becomes difficult to successfully apply the UPF COP strategy.

This paper analyses the origin and evolution of the Aguu, a group of street youth/children labelled as a criminal gang operating in the streets of Gulu, Uganda. Based on a series of interviews, focus group discussions, participant observations, archival work and literature review, the paper traces the origin of the Aguu to the conflict in Northern Uganda, and describes the transformation of the Aguu from street youth/children linked to war and displacement to their present day labelling as ‘criminal gang’. Anchored in an analysis based on Assemblage Theory, this paper demonstrates the complexity, multiplicity and fluidity of the Aguu identity as a group whose inception and evolution, both internal and external, occurs through a process of relationship between social, political, economic and infrastructural changes linked to war, culture, aid and politics, affecting present day security discourses in Gulu, Uganda.

This study explores how the use of learning analytics (LA) visualizations to eliciting examples tasks (EET) on the topic of functions can shape middle school mathematics teachers' formative assessment (FA) practices. Teachers' practices were examined when provided with LA visualizations, offering them an interactive analysis of their students' work. The findings showed that LA visualizations enhanced teachers' evaluations of their students' work, including challenges and strengths. Two key areas of FA were supported when teachers interacted with LA: designing and implementing classroom discussions and other learning activities and enhancing the quality of feedback. The patterns of use indicated that when teachers were not convinced of the data presented, they used critical thinking and accessed other reports and interactive tools to confirm their impressions.

Introduction: The cumulative burden of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the United States’ healthcare system is substantial. To help mitigate this burden, novel solutions including telehealth and dedicated screening facilities have been used. However, there is limited data on the efficacy of such models and none assessing patient comfort levels with these changes in healthcare delivery. The aim of our study was to evaluate patients’ perceptions of a drive-through medical treatment system in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Patients presenting to a drive-through COVID-19 medical treatment facility were surveyed about their experience following their visit. An anonymous questionnaire consisting of five questions, using a five-point Likert scale was distributed via electronic tablet. Results: We obtained 827 responses over two months. Three quarters of respondents believed care received was similar to that in a traditional emergency department (ED). Overall positive impression of the drive-through was 86.6%, and 95% believed that it was more convenient. Conclusion: Overall, the drive-through medical system was perceived as more convenient than the ED and was viewed as a positive experience. While representing a dramatic change in the delivery model of medical care, if such systems can provide comparable levels of care, they may be a viable option for sustained and surge healthcare delivery.

Food security in sub-Saharan Africa is one of the major issues confronting the continent. Innovative use of fresh water, the world’s scarcest food production resource, is vital for family-run small-holder agricultural systems, which supply up to 80% of the world’s food. Agriculture employs 70% of Tanzania’s rural population and supplies 95% of the country’s food. The goal was to measure the impact of smart drip irrigation kits on smallholder farmers’ resilience and rural poverty in Tanzania. A household survey was conducted using an exploratory sequential design in four districts (Babati, Hai, Kasulu, and Kilosa) in Tanzania. A total of 383 respondents (Micro-investing (MI) farmers, n = 195; control, n = 187) were randomly selected from a pool of 3444 farmers. Partial budgeting and enterprise economic analysis were used for the calculation of gross margins, and multivariate analysis was used for poverty analysis. Gross margin analysis showed that communities using drip-irrigated vegetable farming are more profitable. Partial budgeting analysis showed that micro-irrigation increased the revenue generation for most vegetable varieties. However, multivariate analysis was unable to confirm that household poverty was markedly reduced through the adoption of this technology. Half of the MI farmers could afford an education for their children due to the extra income generated from MI. This investment strategy has the potential to improve smallholder livelihoods and resilience to climate change.

Objective: There is growing evidence of involvement of inflammatory mechanisms in ADHD. Previous studies found significantly higher rates of ADHD among children with FMF. The present study examined the rate of exposure to FMF in children with a later (within a 5-year period) diagnosis of ADHD compared to non-ADHD children. Methods: A population-based case-control study of all children (<18 years) registered in Leumit Health Services during 01.01.2006 to 06.30.2021. All cases met ICD-9/10 criteria for ADHD. They were matched by age, sex, and socioeconomic status on a 1:2 rate to randomly selected non-ADHD controls. Results: Fifty-six (0.30%) children with ADHD (N = 18,756) were previously diagnosed with FMF compared to 65 of 37,512 controls (0.17%). A significant, independent association existed between a preceding FMF diagnosis and a later ADHD diagnosis [OR = 1.72 (95% CI 1.18-2.51); p = 0.003]. Conclusions: The mechanisms underlying the association w between FMF and later ADHD diagnosis merit further elucidation.

Objective: We examined the association between the number, magnitude, and frequency of febrile episodes during the 0 to 4 years of life and subsequent diagnosis of ADHD. Methods: This population-based case-control study in an Israeli HMO, Leumit Health Services (LHS), uses a database for all LHS members aged 5 to 18 years between 1/1/2002 and 1/30/2022. The number and magnitude of measured fever episodes during the 0 to 4 years were recorded in individuals with ADHD (N = 18,558) and individually matched non-ADHD controls in a 1:2 ratio (N = 37,116). Results: A significant, independent association was found between the number and magnitude of febrile episodes during the 0 to 4 years and the probability of a later diagnosis of ADHD. Children who never had a measured temperature >37.5°C had a significantly lower rate of ADHD (OR = 0.834, 95% CI [0.802, 0.866], p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Febrile episodes during 0 to 4 years are associated with a significantly increased rate of a later diagnosis of ADHD in a dose-response relationship.

Education policies are typically anchored in official texts that provide a foundation for their enactment in schools. What are the implications of an "invisible" policy not anchored in any official text due to political motives? This study explores the enactment of an invisible education policy that regulates religious enclave schools. These schools' curricula are the source of frequent conflict between states and religious enclave communities. The study draws on the case of the National Haredi Education (NHE) reform in Israel that enabled ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) private schools in Israel to affiliate with a new stream of public schools whose regulations were not anchored in any official text. The data comprised interviews with principals, teachers, and supervisors, as well as document analysis. The findings showed that the enactment of the NHE policy was primarily manifested in invisible changes, such as teacher professionalisation and pupil assessment. Curricular changes visible to the wider school community were enacted differently in different schools. Our findings also characterised the implications of the NHE policy's invisibility. The lack of institutional recognition hindered the reform, but the autonomy of the implementing agents enabled them to promote changes within their purview and become policy entrepreneurs.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many traditional field-courses for intercultural education were suspended. In response, we developed and implemented an innovative online field course that leveraged live online field experiences. Drawing from Cognitive Load Theory and Four Components Instructional Design, our aim was to create an engaging online intercultural course that addressed the challenges of remote instruction. The course focused on introducing students to field challenges in rural India, equipping them with the necessary skills for conducting online field research. Throughout the course, we employed Action Research methodologies to study and refine our approach while monitoring student's progress towards achieving the course objectives. While physical presence in the field is valuable for certain aspects of intercultural education, we found that online field courses, supported by live virtual field visits and online fieldwork, can provide students with a meaningful intercultural experience. To manage the cognitive load experienced by students, we emphasised carefully designed and flexible course content, as well as providing close supervision and feedback.

Conjectures are a key component of mathematical inquiry, a process in which the students raise conjectures, refute or dismiss some of them, and formulate additional ones. Taking a design-based research approach, we formulated a design principle for personal feedback in supporting the iterative process of conjecturing. We empirically explored the design principle by studying the use that four pairs of high school students made of online feedback when working on two example-eliciting tasks. Analysis focused on the ways in which the feedback was apparent in the students' reasoning process. The findings indicate that designed elaborated feedback supported interactions that led students to formulate new conjectures and motivated them to resume the inquiry and to generalise their initial conjecture.