"Talk to my father": re-thinking social exclusion and access to justice in the context of bridewealth negotiation

Broadly, the concept of social exclusion denotes a condition in which peopie are unabie to voice their opinion freeiy and fuiiy in matters affecting their iives. It often manifests as unequai respect for, and protection of people's rights based on gender, age, race, and simiiar demographics. Sociai inciusion has become a concern for poiicy deveiopment and impiementation, particuiariy in cuiturai matters, where tensions often arise between traditionai norms and universaiist State iaws. In this context, brideweaith payment in Southern Nigeria presents an intriguing iens for examining social exclusion. Here, women's exciusion from their own brideweaith negotiation iiiustrates the interpiay of agency and unequai power reiations, two twin elements that affect access to justice and policy development. So, in what ways does women's exclusion from bridewealth negotiation broaden understanding of access to justice and development programming? This article argues that women's cultural exclusion from bridewealth negotiation hinders their agency in marriage under customary law. Using data obtained from Southern Nigeria in 2016, it shows how the sustenance of social exclusion stands at the intersection of law, culture, and justice.

Municipal Programs and Sustainable Development in Russian Northern Cities: Case Studies of Murmansk and Magadan

Cities play an important role in promoting sustainable development. In the Arctic, most particularly in Russia, cities concentrate the majority of residents and economic activity. Sustainable development initiatives are often deployed through programs that operate at different spatial and jurisdictional scales. While national and regional policies and programs have received some attention, the understanding of urban development policies and programs at the municipal level in the Arctic is still limited. This paper presents a case study of municipal sustainable development programming in Arctic cities and examines municipal programs in two larger Russian northern cities: Murmansk and Magadan. While both are regional capitals and the most populous urban settlements in their regions, the cities have district historical, economic and geographical contexts. Through the content analysis of municipal programs active in 2018, we aim to understand, systematize and compare the visions and programmatic actions of the two municipalities on sustainable development. Ten sustainable development programming categories were identified for using a UN SDG-inspired approach modeled after the City of Whitehorse, Canada. While the programs in Magadan and Murmansk are quite different, we observed striking commonalities that characterize the national, regional and local models of urban sustainable development policy making in the Russian Arctic.

Correction to: Farella, J., Moore, J., Arias, J., & Elliot-Engel, J. (2021). Framing Indigenous Identity Inclusion in Positive Youth Development: Proclaimed Ignorance, Partial Vacuum, and the Peoplehood Model. Journal of Youth Development, 16(4), 1-25. https://doi.org/10.5195/jyd.2021.1059

There were mistakes in two citations. The original article can be found via the DOI: https://doi.org/10.5195/jyd.2021.1059. The year and title were corrected for Farella, J., Hauser, M., Parrott, A., Moore, J. D., Penrod, M., & Elliott-Engel, J. (2021). 4-H Youth development programming in Indigenous communities: A critical review of cooperative extension literature. Journal of Extension, 59(3), Article 7. https://doi.org/10.34068/joe.59.03.07. The year was corrected for: Farella, J., Moore, J., & Arias, J. (2021). Applying the Peoplehood Model: A model for assessing Indigenous identity inclusion in extension programming (AZ1909-2020). University of Arizona Cooperative Extension. https://extension.arizona.edu/sites/extension.arizona.edu/files/pubs/az1909-2021.pdf

4-H Youth Development Programming in Indigenous Communities: A Critical Review of Cooperative Extension Literature

A literature review was conducted using the key words relating to Native American Youth and 4-H to assess the current state of 4-H youth programming serving First Nation/ Indigenous populations to inform future Extension initiatives. A systematic and qualitative review determined what level of focus the conducted programming efforts placed on broadly accepted elements of cultural identity as noted in the Peoplehood Model. A very small number of articles (N=13) were found pertaining to 4-H and Indigenous Communities. Fewer demonstrated emphasis on the peoplehood elements of language, place, traditional ceremony or calendars, and history. This work investigates a continuing inequity in 4-H PYD–both in service and reporting–and suggests some next steps for creating a more inclusive 4-H program for Native American/First Nation/Indigenous youth.

Integrating Positive Youth Development: Insights From International Youth Development Programming

Effective international youth development programs go beyond single-issue interventions—they leverage the entire organization and project life cycle to advance positive youth outcomes. This paper illustrates how positive youth development (PYD) approaches can be adapted for and applied by organizations to promote positive outcomes for young people and communities globally. The article provides 6 insights from the International Youth Foundation’s (IYF) application of PYD principles across diverse youth development programs. Moreover, the authors present practical insights into what is required by practitioners, regardless of geographic boundaries, to effectively engage with, support, and meet the needs of youth and young adults whom they serve. Finally, the article argues that practitioners and funders need to find new ways to measure and value PYD investments and that funders need to make PYD integral across their funding streams.

Resilience-Informed Positive Youth Development Programs in International Development

In countries affected by crisis and conflict, systems that support young people are often disrupted. Youth who are going through critical periods of physical, cognitive, and social–emotional development are especially affected by these disruptions. We examined positive youth development programming strategies that have been used in crisis and conflict-affected areas to build youth resilience, defined as a young person’s ability to manage risk (absorptive capacity), enhance assets and agency (adaptive capacity), and contribute to society (transformative capacity). We summarize key concepts of positive youth development and resilience and then examine how these have been interpreted and applied in youth development programming. We present 2 case studies of youth programs from the Philippines and the Democratic Republic of Congo that illustrate programming that integrates these concepts and discuss how resilience and positive youth development can intersect and reinforce one another. Using empirical findings from these crisis and conflict-affected settings, we illustrate how resilience-informed positive youth development programming builds youth and community assets and agency while increasing the absorptive, adaptive, and transformative resilience capacities of both youth and their communities to respond to shocks and stressors. We conclude with a discussion of relevant takeaways and program implications regarding the application of a resilience lens to positive youth development, particularly in areas affected by crisis or conflict.

Maternal Folic Acid Intake and Methylation Status of Genes Associated with Ventricular Septal Defects in Children: Case–Control Study

Background: DNA methylation is the best epigenetic mechanism for explaining the interactions between nutrients and genes involved in intrauterine growth and development programming. A possible contributor of methylation abnormalities to congenital heart disease is the folate methylation regulatory pathway; however, the mechanisms and methylation patterns of VSD-associated genes are not fully understood. Objective: To determine if maternal dietary intake of folic acid (FA) is related to the methylation status (MS) of VSD-associated genes (AXIN1, MTHFR, TBX1, and TBX20). Methods: Prospective case–control study; 48 mothers and their children were evaluated. The mothers’ dietary variables were collected through a food frequency questionnaire focusing on FA and the consumption of supplements with FA. The MS of promoters of genes was determined in the children. Results: The intake of FA supplements was significantly higher in the control mothers. In terms of maternal folic acid consumption, significant differences were found in the first trimester of pregnancy. Significant differences were observed in the MS of MTHFR and AXIN1 genes in VSD and control children. A correlation between maternal FA supplementation and MS of AXIN1 and TBX20 genes was found in control and VSD children, respectively. Conclusions: A lower MS of AXIN1 genes and a higher MS of TBX20 genes is associated with FA maternal supplementation.

The Evaluation Framework in the New CAP 2023–2027: A Reflection in the Light of Lessons Learned from Rural Development

The new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) proposal includes few improvements compared to previous programming periods which may reinforce future evaluation, but we can also observe elements that may weaken the assessment, with the risk of repeating past failures. The objective of this essay is to analyse the new framework proposed for evaluation in the future CAP and to promote a collective discussion on how to make evaluations more usable, useful and reliable for users and practitioners. The first part of the paper analyses the main elements of evaluation during the different rural development programming cycles. A second part is dedicated to an examination of the current programming period (2014–2020) and the implications of the introduction of the Common Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (CMEF) and the evaluation plan. In a third part, we critically discuss the proposals for the next programming period and we offer some concluding reflections and two main open questions. From the analyses carried out, many elements emerge to encourage discussion on the role that evaluation has played and can play and the critical points to face. The experiences in rural development policies have introduced important changes in theoretical and implementation terms. In particular, they helped to build evaluation capacity and enabled the involvement of the civil society. However, it is also clear that the European Commission (EC) designed path has often led to an increase in rigidity and orthodoxy towards common frameworks compliance.

Social Network Analysis Methods for International Development

Social Network Analysis (SNA) is a promising yet underutilized tool in the international development field. SNA entails collecting and analyzing data to characterize and visualize social networks, where nodes represent network members and edges connecting nodes represent relationships or exchanges among them. SNA can help both researchers and practitioners understand the social, political, and economic relational dynamics at the heart of international development programming. It can inform program design, monitoring, and evaluation to answer questions related to where people get information; with whom goods and services are exchanged; who people value, trust, or respect; who has power and influence and who is excluded; and how these dynamics change over time. This brief advances the case for use of SNA in international development, outlines general approaches, and discusses two recently conducted case studies that illustrate its potential. It concludes with recommendations for how to increase SNA use in international development.