Transformative community projects in East Germany's rural spaces: exploring more sustainable forms of learning, working, and living.

Increasingly people experience alienation in educational institutions, in work life, and fragmentation in their personal life. This study explores more self-determined, healthy, and sustainable forms of working, learning, and living through a dynamic process that began in 2020 with the purchase of an old homestead in Eastern Germany. Through the remodeling of the buildings and grounds, the first social and cultural references emerged. Along with practical uses, the farm project sees itself as a future workshop or think tank. The resulting consideration includes ideas of compulsory schooling woven into a self-designed format and the introduction of an unconditional basic income. These components could lead to thousands of such projects in rural and urban areas. Drawing from communitarianism, the belief is that an active civil society must take on social, economic, and educational responsibilities and offer children and young people improved conditions in which to grow up. Theory development on the individual components exists, such as entrepreneurship, transformation, community-building, basic income, or self-directed learning but not on the interaction of these variables in the overall context. We tentatively call this integrated design a transformative community project.

An educator's reflections on service learning as an approach to produce socially responsive medical imaging and therapeutic sciences graduates.

INTRODUCTION: Producing socially responsive graduates is a challenge within the undergraduate training of healthcare professionals. The role of the educator is to prepare the students for work in various community settings. An approach through which this can be done, is known as service learning (SL). SL allows students an opportunity to apply their newly gained knowledge to real-life projects. AIM: To reflect on how social responsiveness can be instilled within a South African medical imaging and therapeutic sciences curriculum. METHOD AND DISCUSSION: The Gibbs' Reflective Cycle was utilised to draw on and describe the educator's experience as a facilitator of SL. A conceptual model was developed, depicting the different phases that the educator embarks on whilst facilitating a SL community project. The reflections presented in this paper is based on the educator's own experience. No primary data is presented. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: As an educator and facilitator of SL, I have learnt that it is critical to adopt a hands-on approach whereby you have to step in and support/ motivate the students on a regular basis. Graduates can use this experience to improve their patient care practices within the clinical environment. The need to explore the students' perspectives on the conceptual model and their overall SL experience is deemed necessary to enhance the facilitation of future projects.

La educación antisísmica con estudiantes de medicina a través de un proyecto comunitario / Anti-seismic education of medical students through a community project

La prevención ante los desastres acaecidos por sismos constituye una problemática en determinadas regiones vulnerables en Cuba, y una prioridad en la formación de estudiantes de medicina. En este trabajo, las opiniones de los autores se fundamentan en la influencia que tiene un proyecto comunitario, para actuar ante situaciones sísmicas, en la preparación de los estudiantes de medicina, pues favorece una mayor calidad profesional y contribuye a enriquecer su labor preventiva con la población. Como parte del proceso, participaron 46 estudiantes de cuarto año de la Facultad de medicina No. 1, de Santiago de Cuba, en el período comprendido entre septiembre de 2016 a febrero de 2018(AU)

Prevention of earthquake disasters is a problem in certain vulnerable regions of Cuba, and a priority in the training of medical students. In this work, the authors' opinions are based on the influence that a community project has, to act in seismic situations, in the preparation of medical students, since it favours a higher professional quality and contributes to enriching their preventive work with population. As part of the process, 46 fourth-year students from the Faculty of Medicine No. 1, Santiago de Cuba, participated in the period from September 2016 to February 2018(AU)

Mulheres em projetos comunitários: redes sociais significativas e a promoção da saúde / Women in community projects: social networks and health promotion / Mujeres en proyectos comunitarios: redes sociales significativas y promoción de la salud

O presente artigo objetivou mapear as redes sociais significativas de mulheres de um projeto comunitário estabelecendo relações com a promoção da saúde. Foram entrevistadas três mulheres participantes de um projeto comunitário numa cidade do interior da região sul do Brasil. Utilizou-se o mapa de redes e questionário sociodemográfico. No mapa de redes buscou-se analisar a estrutura, a função; e os atributos do vínculo, em seguida foram verificadas as relações com os valores fundantes da Política Nacional da Promoção da Saúde. Verificou-se que os vínculos significativos estão concentrados nas famílias, na comunidade/projeto comunitário, e nas relações de amizades e trabalho, por meio de apoio emocional, material, e guia cognitivo. Foram identificados os aspectos da promoção da saúde referentes à felicidade, solidariedade, corresponsabilidade, humanização e inclusão social. Os resultados do mapa de redes representam indicadores de promoção da saúde que permitiram desenvolver trabalho, renda e protagonismo nas mulheres para a construção de projetos de vida.

This article aimed to map the significant social networks of women in a community project establishing relationships with health promotion. Three women participating in a community project in a city in the south of Brazil were interviewed. The network map and sociodemographic questionnaire were used. The network map sought to analyze the structure, function, and attributes of the bond, then the relationships with the founding values of the National Health Promotion Policy were verified. It was found that the significant bonds are concentrated in the family, in community/community project, and in friendships and work relationships, through emotional, material support, and cognitive guidance. Aspects of health promotion related to happiness, solidarity, co-responsibility, humanization and social inclusion were identified. The results of the network map represent health promotion indicators that allowed the development of work, income and leadership in women for the construction of life projects.

Este artículo objetivó mapear las redes sociales significativas de mujeres en un proyecto comunitario que establece relaciones con la promoción de la salud. Se entrevistó a tres mujeres que participaban en un proyecto comunitario en una ciudad del sur de Brasil. Se utilizó el mapa de red y el cuestionario sociodemográfico. El mapa de la red buscó analizar la estructura, la función y los atributos del vínculo, luego se verificaron las relaciones con los valores fundacionales de la Política Nacional de Promoción de la Salud. Se descubrió que los vínculos significativos se concentran en la familia, en la comunidad/proyecto comunitario, y en amistades y relaciones laborales, a través de apoyo emocional, material y orientación cognitiva. Se identificaron aspectos de la promoción de la salud relacionados con la felicidad, la solidaridad, la corresponsabilidad, la humanización y la inclusión social. Los resultados del mapa de la red representan indicadores de promoción de la salud que permitieron el desarrollo del trabajo, los ingresos y el liderazgo en las mujeres para la construcción de proyectos de vida.

Towards low carbon society in Iskandar Malaysia: Implementation and feasibility of community organic waste composting.

Rapid population growth and urbanisation have generated large amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) in many cities. Up to 40-60% of Malaysia's MSW is reported to be food waste where such waste is highly putrescible and can cause bad odour and public health issue if its disposal is delayed. In this study, the implementation of community composting in a village within Iskandar Malaysia is presented as a case study to showcase effective MSW management and mitigation of GHG emission. The selected village, Felda Taib Andak (FTA), is located within a palm oil plantation and a crude palm oil processing mill. This project showcases a community-composting prototype to compost food and oil palm wastes into high quality compost. The objective of this article is to highlight the economic and environment impacts of a community-based composting project to the key stakeholders in the community, including residents, oil palm plantation owners and palm oil mill operators by comparing three different scenarios, through a life cycle approach, in terms of the greenhouse gas emission and cost benefit analysis. First scenario is the baseline case, where all the domestic waste is sent to landfill site. In the second scenario, a small-scale centralised composting project was implemented. In the third scenario, the data obtained from Scenario 2 was used to do a projection on the GHG emission and costing analysis for a pilot-scale centralised composting plant. The study showed a reduction potential of 71.64% on GHG emission through the diversion of food waste from landfill, compost utilisation and significant revenue from the compost sale in Scenario 3. This thus provided better insight into the feasibility and desirability in implementing a pilot-scale centralised composting plant for a sub-urban community in Malaysia to achieve a low carbon and self-sustainable society, in terms of environment and economic aspects.

La atención al Adulto mayor: un reto para la medicina contemporánea / Senior Adult Care: A Challenge For Contemporary Medicine

Introducción: en Cuba, como parte del Programa de Atención al Adulto Mayor, la atención comunitaria desarrolla acciones encaminadas a la atención integral al anciano, con el fin de mantenerlos activos en el seno de la comunidad e integrarlos a esta. Para ello es imprescindible concebir esta etapa de la vida como un período de desarrollo y crecimiento, rico en experiencias y conocimientos, lo que se revertiría en acciones preventivas que contribuyan a que los ancianos lleven una vida más plena, sintiéndose útiles y satisfechos a pesar de su avanzada edad, con una percepción positiva de la vejez, responsabilidad que debe asumir el personal de la salud de su comunidad por mantener una estrecha relación con ellos. Objetivos: caracterizar a la población geriátrica y, posteriormente, trabajar con ella en un proyecto comunitario. Métodos: estudio observacional, descriptivo y transversal en el Consultorio 6 del Policlínico Pedro Díaz Coello durante los meses enero-febrero de 2013. Se integraron al estudio todos los pacientes mayores de 60 años, escogiéndose la muestra de forma aleatoria simple, teniendo en cuenta los criterios de exclusión. Para la caracterización se revisaron las historias clínicas individuales, se aplicó la Escala de Depresión Yesavage y el test para determinar deterioro cognitivo en el anciano, Mini Mental. Resultados: predominaron los viejos jóvenes, funcionales con un mayor por ciento en el sexo femenino y sin deterioro cognitivo; la depresión estaba presente en la mayoría de ellos. Conclusiones: predominaron los viejos jóvenes, funcionales y sin deterioro cognitivo, con un mayor por ciento en el sexo femenino, la depresión estuvo presente en la mayoría de ellos(AU)

Introduction: In Cuba, as part of the Care Program for the Elderly, community care develops actions to provide comprehensive care to the elderly, in order to keep them active within the community and integrate them in it. This requires designing this stage of life as a period of development and growth, rich in experience and knowledge, which would be reversed in preventive actions that help the elderly lead a fuller life, feeling useful and satisfied despite their advanced age, with a positive perception of old age. This responsibility must assume by the health personnel in their community by maintaining a close relationship with them. Objectives: Characterize the geriatric population and then work with it in a community project. Methods: An observational, descriptive study was carried out at Doctor's Office 6 in Pedro Diaz Coello Polyclinic from January to February 2013. All patients older than 60 years joined the study. The sample was chosen at simple random, taking into account the exclusion criteria. Individual medical histories were reviewed to characterize the subjects in this study. Yesavage Depression Scale was applied as well as tests to determine cognitive impairment in the elderly. Results: Old youth predominated, with greater functional percent in women without cognitive impairment; depression was present in most of them. Conclusions: Old youth predominated, functional and without cognitive impairment, with a higher percent in women, depression was present in most of them(AU)

Species richness and relative species abundance of Nymphalidae (Lepidoptera) in three forests with different perturbations in the North-Central Caribbean of Costa Rica / Riqueza y abundancia relativa de especies de Nymphalidae (Lepidoptera) en tres bosques con diversos grados de alteración en el centro norte del Caribe de Costa Rica

Measurements of species richness and species abundance can have important implications for regulations and conservation. This study investigated species richness and abundance of butterflies in the family Nymphalidae at undisturbed, and disturbed habitats in Tirimbina Biological Reserve and Nogal Private Reserve, Sarapiquí, Costa Rica. Traps baited with rotten banana were placed in the canopy and the understory of three habitats: within mature forest, at a river/forest border, and at a banana plantation/forest border. In total, 71 species and 487 individuals were caught and identified during May and June 2011 and May 2013. Species richness and species abundance were found to increase significantly at perturbed habitats (p<0.0001, p<0.0001, respectively). The edge effect, in which species richness and abundance increase due to greater complementary resources from different habitats, could be one possible explanation for increased species richness and abundance. Rev. Biol. Trop. 62 (3): 919-928. Epub 2014 September 01.

La medición de la riqueza y abundancia de especies puede indicar la salud de un ecosistema y tener implicaciones importantes para la conservación y su regulación. Este estudio investigó la riqueza y abundancia de mariposas de la familia Nymphalidae en hábitats alterados y no alterados, primordialmente en la Reserva Biológica Tirimbina y en la Reserva Privada Nogal, Sarapiquí, Costa Rica. Se colocaron trampas cebadas con banano podrido en el dosel y sotobosque de tres hábitats: en un bosque primario, en el lindero entre un río y un bosque y en el lindero entre una plantación de bananos y un bosque. Se atrapó e identificó un total de 71 especies y 487 individuos durante mayo y junio 2011 y en mayo 2013. Se encontró que la riqueza y la abundancia de especies aumentaron significativamente en los hábitats de los linderos (p<0.0001, p<0.0001 respectivamente). El efecto de borde, según el cual la riqueza y la abundancia de especies aumentan a causa de la existencia de más recursos complementarios provenientes de dos hábitats distintos, podría ser una posible explicación del aumento en la riqueza y la abundancia de especies en hábitats alterados.

Social Deterministic Factors to Participation in the National Health Insurance Scheme in the Context of Rural Ghanaian Setting.

The primary purpose of this study is to identify predictors of complete household enrollment into the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) among inhabitants of the Barekese sub-district in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Heads of households in 20 communities from the Barekuma Collaborative Community Project site were interviewed to gather data on demographic, socioeconomic status (SES) indicators and complete household subscription in the NHIS. Logistic regression model was used to predict enrollment in the NHIS. Of the 3228 heads of households interviewed, 60 percent reported having all members of their respective households enrolled in the NHIS. Residents in the classified Middle and High SES brackets had 1.47 (95% CI: 1.21-1.77) and 1.66 (95% CI: 1.27-2.16) times higher odds, respectively, of complete household enrollment compared to their counterparts in the Low SES category. The odds of enrolling in the program tend to increase progressively with the highest level of education attained by the head of the family unit. Eight years after the introduction of the national health insurance policy in Ghana, the reported subscription rate for complete households was about 60 percent in the 20 rural communities that participated in the study. This finding calls for the need to step up further national strategies that will help increase enrollment coverage, especially among the poor and less educated in the rural communities.