Kathryn Grace

Against Abstinence-Only Education Abroad: Viewing Internet Use during Study Abroad as a Possible Experience Enhancement.

As the old model of study abroad welcomes a new generation of student, administrators are forced to grapple with how and whether to adapt the old model to new communication technologies. Assumed in the traditional model of study abroad, and in the cultural and language learning theories around which those programs were constructed, is that learning takes place in face-to-face (FTF) encounters with the host culture. Under these assumptions, the Internet is merely a distraction and ought to be avoided during study abroad. However, more recent research on Internet-mediated communication no longer situates Internet-mediated communication as diametrically opposed to FTF communication. Study abroad participants and administrators have long grappled with how to decrease stress and increase integration during study abroad. Literature on Internet-mediated social support, and computer-mediated communication, suggests that the Internet may be an effective means through which to access socially supportive peer networks, and break down barriers to communication—both of which have the potential to reduce stress and increase integration while abroad. The present study is a descriptive analysis of how students are using the Internet to enhance their experience abroad. An original survey instrument constructed from qualitative data was used to determine the ways in which students use the Internet to both access and to create networks of support during study abroad. The results indicate that the Internet bolsters confidence and risk taking by providing students with the perception of available support, valuable informational support, and access to a broader social network. These results are then analyzed with respect to students’ acculturative stress levels and increased integration.

Using satellite remote sensing and household survey data to assess human health and nutrition response to environmental change

Climate change and degradation of ecosystem services functioning may threaten the ability of current agricultural systems to keep up with demand for adequate and inexpensive food and for clean water, waste disposal and other broader ecosystem services. Human health is likely to be affected by changes occurring across multiple geographic and time scales. Impacts range from increasing transmissibility and the range of vectorborne diseases, such as malaria and yellow fever, to undermining nutrition through deleterious impacts on food production and concomitant increases in food prices. This paper uses case studies to describe methods that make use of satellite remote sensing and Demographic and Health Survey data to better understand individual-level human health and nutrition outcomes. By bringing these diverse datasets together, the connection between environmental change and human health outcomes can be described through new research and analysis.

Using High-Resolution Remotely Sensed Data to Examine the Relationship Between Agriculture and Fertility in Mali

Mali reports one of the highest fertility levels in the world. Most Malians grow their own food or rely on locally grown food to feed their families. Because Mali is potentially facing a loss of existing arable land due to climate change, however, concern over the ability of the country to meet the nutritional needs of its growing population is high. Building on historical studies of fertility and agriculture, in this research we examine the impact of local food production on fertility outcomes, taking advantage of geo-referenced health data and recently developed analytic strategies from the remote sensing literature. To examine this relationship we rely on the Demographic and Health Survey data from 2006 as well as on a collection of very high-resolution remotely sensed imagery. Results suggest that fertility, and in some cases fertility aspirations, is positively related to food production and broader scale food production strategies. These results hold even after accounting for individual variation in socioeconomic status.

Combining insights from quantile and ordinal regression: Child malnutrition in Guatemala

Chronic child undernutrition is a persistent problem in developing countries and has been the focus of hundreds of studies where the primary intent is to improve targeting of public health and economic development policies. In national level cross-sectional studies undernutrition is measured as child stunting and the goal is to assess differences in prevalence among population subgroups. Several types of regression modeling frameworks have been used to study childhood stunting but the literature provides little guidance in terms of statistical properties and the ease with which the results can be communicated to the policy community. We compare the results from quantile regression and ordinal regression models. The two frameworks can be linked analytically and together yield complementary insights. We find that reflecting on interpretations from both models leads to a more thorough analysis and forces the analyst to consider the policy utility of the findings. Guatemala is used as the country focus for the study.

Can Small-Scale Agricultural Production Improve Children's Health? Examining Stunting Vulnerability among Very Young Children in Mali, West Africa

Stunting affects an individuals educational and wage-earning potential and can even affect the next generation of children. Most research of childhood stunting focuses on the determinants and correlates that lead to stunting—through nutritional or early infant experiences, with one potential solution to stunting being an increased supply of locally produced food. This research examines the interplay of community-level cropped area as a factor relating to childhood stunting. We use the most recently collected Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data for Mali, very high resolution remotely sensed imagery, and other remotely sensed data relating to geophysical characteristics to examine the impact of local cultivation on childrens health. We focus on evaluating the environmental, community, household, and individual characteristics of the children who report healthy anthropometrics despite the presence of specific stunting risk factors. In adopting this approach to studies of childrens health we can shed light on how small-scale agricultural production impacts childhood stunting among at-risk children.

In search of a global model of cultivation: using remote sensing to examine the characteristics and constraints of agricultural production in the developing world

In most developing countries, people are heavily reliant on inexpensive, locally grown food. However, while dependence on cropping crosses national and continental boundaries, the selection of land for cropping has adapted to the available conditions. Recent analyses conducted by the Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) show that the characteristics of cropped area differ in different countries, indicating that the critical variables influencing the selection of location for the establishment of agriculture also vary. This study looks at a selection of FEWS NET work using high resolution remotely sensed imagery to analyze cropped areas in Afghanistan, Eritrea, Guatemala, Haiti, Mali, Mozambique, South Sudan, Burkina-Faso and Tajikistan. This analysis identifies similarities and differences in the significant factors impacting cropped area in each country. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the application of high-resolution imagery to estimating cultivation is assessed. The results highlight the context-specific nature of cultivation and the effectiveness of very high-resolution satellite imagery for crop estimation. The results also suggest that a single, generally applicable model of cultivation will require complex interactions between economic, governmental and population characteristics in addition to local landscape/geophysical properties.

Considering climate in studies of fertility and reproductive health in poor countries

Understanding the links between climate and fertility and reproductive health outcomes in poor countries is a major ethical and policy imperative. However, doing so will require researchers in population sciences and in earth and climate sciences to merge their expertise. To this end, the dominant theoretical frameworks and readily available geospatial population data used by social scientists provide a starting point for climate and physical scientists to think about the mechanisms that link climate and weather to fertility and reproductive health, and available climate data and analytic strategies can be used to develop research that considers different scales of influence.

A spatial analytic framework for assessing and improving food aid distribution in developing countries

Undernutrition is responsible for nearly half of all deaths of children under five years of age. In the developing world, where many communities rely on subsistence farming, one way of combating undernutrition is through food aid provided by governmental and non-governmental organizations. In this analysis we develop a flexible optimization based approach to support food aid planning capable of incorporating a variety of inputs to capture micro-scale food demand. We apply this optimization model to the specific case of Mali, one of the poorest countries in the world, with large food aid programs. The results are compared to the current distribution of food aid outlets as presented by the World Food Program and suggest that an optimization based framework provides quantitative-based insights of demand and resource allocation useful for planning efforts. In particular, the results indicate that a reallocation of existing food aid outlets towards more dense areas where vegetation is reduced could markedly increase access to outlets by those with food needs. The developed approach has potential to support ongoing efforts to reduce food insecurity and improve the cost-effective targeting of food aid in Mali and elsewhere.

Climate, Birth Weight, and Agricultural Livelihoods in Kenya and Mali

Objectives To examine an association between climate variability and birth weight in Mali and Kenya in relation to the local agricultural specialization. Methods We combined health and sociodemographic data from the Demographic Health Surveys for Kenya (2008 and 2014) and Mali (2006 and 2012) with detailed data on precipitation, temperature, and vegetation. We analyzed the association between climate variability and birth weight by using multilevel regression models for the most common agricultural specializations: food cropping, cash cropping, and pastoralism. Results There are differences in sensitivity to climate among different agricultural communities. An additional 100 millimeters of rainfall during the 12-month period before birth was associated with a 47-gram (P = .001) and 89-gram (P = .10) increase in birth weight for food croppers in Kenya and Mali, respectively. Every additional hot month in food-cropping communities in Kenya was associated with a 71-gram decrease in birth weight (P = .030), likely because of food croppers’ limited use of modern agricultural techniques. Overall, cash croppers are least sensitive to climate variability in both countries. Conclusions Effective climate change adaptation strategies are essential for protecting and improving health outcomes and should be tailored to local households’ livelihood strategies.

Ethnic Dimensions of Guatemala's Stalled Transition: A Parity-Specific Analysis of Ladino and Indigenous Fertility Regimes.

In some contemporary populations, fertility levels appear to plateau, with women maintaining a consistently high level of fertility for a relatively extended period. Because this plateau does not reflect the historical patterns observed in Europe, the focus of most studies on fertility patterns, mechanisms underlying the plateau and the reinstatement of a decline have not been fully explored and are not fully understood. Through the construction of fertility histories of 25,000 women using multiple years of health survey data, we analyze some of the components of stalled fertility as they pertain to Guatemala, the only Central American country to have experienced a stalled fertility decline.