Developing nations face malnutrition threat | Katine | guardian.co.uk

Developing nations face malnutrition threat | Katine | guardian.co.uk:

"Hellen Apale knows how important it is that her children get a good diet. She knows that at eight months pregnant, she needs to be eating well and eating regularly for the health of her unborn baby. The problem is she has no food.

'We had a really bad harvest, there was a drought which came early last year and it has affected everyone,' she says, gesturing to the scrubby field outside her home, where cassava plants wilt in the brown cracked earth. 'It's not how it used to be when we could easily grow enough to feed everybody. Children are falling sick easily, sometimes we can only feed the family one meal a day.' [...]"

Do protests ever work?

Do protests ever work? | FP Passport:

"...I would add that, at least in democratic societies, protests that demand accountability or consistency from 'the system' tend to be more effective than one that seek to overturn it. The U.S. civil rights movement was able to gain widespread support because its arguments were largely rooted in the constitution and christianity.

Recent examples of effective protests would be the unbelievably effective demonstrations in Pakistan that led to the reinstatement of chief justice Iftikhar Chaudry or the pro-Thaksin demonstrators who have Thailand's government on the brink of capitulation. Strangely, it also seems to be the case that demonstrations in partially free or inconsistently democratic societies tend to be the most effective."

Reversing Bush policy, US seeks seat on UN Human Rights council

Reversing Bush policy, US seeks seat on UN Human Rights council | csmonitor.com:

"President Obama is taking another step down the road of engaging America's adversaries with the decision to seek a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council, a group President Bush had shunned.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced in a statement Tuesday the reversal of Bush's policy of remaining outside the council as a way of protesting its makeup and work. 'With others, we will engage in the work of improving the UN human rights system,' Secretary Clinton said, with the goal of 'advancing the vision of the UN declaration on Human Rights.'"

international policy and relations also affect slums

For today's blog, I found 2 articles on Haiti in the NY Times that describe both the challenges in maintaining foreign aid flows amidst the economic and financial crisis due to a variety of issues, like donor fatigue, and the opportunities that the Haitian population has for economic growth.

Haiti’s Woes Are Top Test for Aid Effort by NEIL MacFARQUHAR

Haiti's Big Chance by BAN KI-MOON

I was sitting in at a meeting on the economic crisis last week at the UN, and one proposition made was for all countries to allocate 1% of their stimulus funding as foreign development aid. It was promising that nations voiced their continued commitments to assistance, echoing expert testimonies that millions will be thrust into extreme poverty as a result of the crisis. For countries that heavily depend on foreign aid, such as Haiti, this may be promising news. However, I think we usually ignore the other ways in which urban populations in the developing world (such as those living in slums) can reap benefits from the crisis. The restructuring of our global economy is already underway and now opportunities exist. Both articles touched on this issue. Much can be done at the international and regional level to effect change for poor urban populations, as the second article shows how changes in US trade legislation may benefit Haitians. Instead of attacking the issue of slums at the local level, analyzing ways in which governments, the private sector and other actors can work with the poor to improve living conditions, perhaps we should also look at international policy in a broader sense to see how foreign policy and trade relations among nations can actually act to hinder slum improvements or create more opportunities. Creating new policies that benefit poor populations may lay the groundwork for development from the bottom up.

Dental Double Standards

Intersting article on ethical issues surrounding dental care and going to war! Check it Out!

"Melanie Hanson, said she could not afford a root canal to save a painful abscessed tooth. When she raised enough money to have it pulled, the dentist refused on ethical grounds, saying the tooth could be saved."

"Among the nation's reservists, a common reason for not being sent to Iraq has been poor teeth"

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/28/business/28dental.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=oral%20health%20care&st=cse

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Earth population 'exceeds limits'

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Earth population 'exceeds limits': "Nina Fedoroff told the BBC One Planet programme that humans had exceeded the Earth's 'limits of sustainability'".

I like how this article is saying that the problem of sustainability is a current problem, not just an issue of the future.

Sustainability - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sustainability - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

"Sustainability, in a broad sense is the ability to maintain a certain process or state. It is now most frequently used in connection with biological and human systems. In an ecological context, sustainability can be defined as the ability of an ecosystem to maintain ecological processes, functions, biodiversity and productivity into the future [...]"

Concrete Is Remixed With Environment in Mind

This piece addresses the best of engineering: through research of a material (or problem) and its implementation on a case-by-case basis, optimal results are produced. In this article, one learns about the serious CO2 contribution inherent with cement production. However with abundant research, solutions do exist which can even render its production carbon neutral or even negative, thus helping combat today's overwhelming problem of climate change. Furthermore, its approach by using different "cement recipes" to meet present conditions, emphasize the sincere understanding and engineering mindset of customizing a solution to fit distinct problems -- problems which are still under the same discipline. This framework, if applied appropriately, is the same understanding much needed to confront poverty or any policy issue: which require distinguishing the problem and acknowledging that each case is different, with each one requiring a different solution, much like a "cement recipe".

Fixing fistulas

Student Life - Fixing fistulas: Alice Emasu’s vision for Ugandan and sub-Saharan women

Evidence, Evidence, Evidence

The Lancet Student Evidence, Evidence, Evidence:

"Following this infamous statement made by Pope Benedict XVI before his recent trip to Africa, questions have arisen over the role that religion and morally-based policies have in the field of public health. The flippant yet globally resonant remark from Pontiff is just one example where evidence-based policy and programming has been trumped by the religious and moral persuasions of a powerful few [...]"

Participant Observer Susannah Slocum

Former student Susannah Slocum sent me this notice...Mary

Next on view at Space 47:

Participant Observer
Susannah Slocum
Exhibition Dates: April 3 - 24, 2009
Opening reception: First Friday, April 3, 2009, 7 - 9pm

Susannah Slocum is an artist based in New York City whose photographic work is inspired by social science research methods. Her typologies utilize increased social interconnectivity as both a means and an end. Participant observation is a type of research strategy that usually involves a range of methods: informal interviews, direct observation, participation in the life of a group, analysis of personal documents produced within a group, self-analysis, and life histories. Its aim is to gain a close and intimate familiarity with a given group of individuals (such as an occupational or subcultural group, or a particular community). Influenced by this strategy, Slocum’s art practice is concentrated on photographic portraiture with a personalized twist that includes intensive involvement with people in their natural environment. Her formally straightforward images depict persons who share something that is not immediately apparent. Are they a group or fierce individualists?

Image credit: Susannah Slocum, Detail from Participant Observer, lightjet print, 2006-08

About space 47:

Gallery Hours:
Thursday-Friday, 12noon to 4pm
& by special appointment
info@space47.org
Free Admission

SPACE 47 is located at:
47 E. William Street (between 1st & 2nd Streets)
San Jose, CA 95112
info@space47.org
www.space47.org

map

Space 47 is an independent project space that aims to foster new ideas and experiences, support artistic exchange and development, and inspire a larger community of cultural entrepreneurs.

gallery hours
during exhibition dates:
Thursday and Saturday, noon to 4pm
and by appointment
admission free

contact:

www.space47.org

info(at)space47.org

Upcoming: Stay Gold: New work by Shizu Saldamando

May 1 through 29, 2009
opening reception:
First Friday, May 1, 2009, 7 to 9pm


Image Credit: Shizu Saldamando, La Otra Gerry, oil paint, gold leaf, washi paper & glitter on wood, 2009, 60x30”inch

_________________________________________________

--
Angelica Muro
Principal, Space 47
angelica@space47.org
www.space47.org

Space 47 is an independent project space that aims to foster new ideas and experiences, support artistic exchange and development, and inspire a larger community of cultural entrepreneurs.

Op-Ed Columnist - A Boy Living in a Car - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Columnist - A Boy Living in a Car - NYTimes.com

Reinventing America’s Cities - The Time Is Now - NYTimes.com

Reinventing America’s Cities - The Time Is Now - NYTimes.com: "Reinventing America’s Cities: The Time Is Now"

Foreign Ways and War Scars Test Hospital - Series - NYTimes.com

Foreign Ways and War Scars Test Hospital - Series - NYTimes.com: "Foreign Ways and War Scars Test Hospital"

Forced migration and displacement, PTSD, immigration, US policy, hospital policy, changing care to include services necessary for immigrants....this article has it all!

Harlem Success Academy Case Study

This is a great example of identifying a technical solution to a problem and scaling it up for organizational success:

Harlem Success Academy Case Study - CellTrust�:

"Shortly after the first Harlem Success Academy opened in August 2006, it became apparent that sending notes home in backpacks, stickers on students, or sending information through the post were not going to achieve the desired communication and parental involvement results. Harlem Success Academy determined it needed a technology partner to bridge the gap and help students, teachers, parents and administrators create an environment of success for the children attending the school [...] By implementing an SMS program for parents and teachers to stay connected regarding information, homework, events and general expectations, the technology revolution in the Harlem Success Academy has greatly assisted in the school�’s success."

Red River

I thought that the latest news from Fargo, ND relate to the topic of building sustainable cities. The flooding raises questions about the considerations taken planning the levees. Perhaps because this type of event does not occur often, decision makers preferred taking the risk instead of investing more money in infrastructure?
Read more about the flooding

The Lancet Digest

The Lancet Student Archive The Lancet Digest, March 27th - April 2nd 2009: "...The World Report covers the deaths caused by the trade in medical waste in India, the gaps in Dafur’s health services caused by aid expulsions and the effects of climate change on mosquito-borne diseases in Asia. Of particular interest to the field of global health is also the continuing Series on health in occupied Palestine and an accompanying Comment the health of Palestinian refugees, a profile on Nicola Roxon, the Australian Minister for Health and Aging and an obituary for surgeon William T. Close (father of Glenn), who helped tackle the first outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1976 [...]"

Placemaking for Communities | Project for Public Spaces (PPS)

Placemaking for Communities | Project for Public Spaces (PPS)

Really cool site!