Davina Boyd

Introduction
Taenia solium places substantial burden on communities in low and middle-income countries, where neurocysticercosis is a leading cause of preventable epilepsy. Current diagnostic tests for T. solium are not suited for low resource settings or perform poorly. Several risk-assessment tools have been developed to support countries in identifying areas for further T. solium investigation and intervention. These tools are based on risk, rather than disease data, and have yet to be validated against biological results.

Methods
Two national quantitative risk-assessment tools (LISA and MCDA), two local semi-quantitative tools (rapid and in-depth), and a local qualitative tool (workshop) had their performance assessed against biological T. solium taeniasis data from 28 villages. The final risk category, risk score and individual components of each tool were assessed independently against village T. solium status by logistic regression.

Results
T. solium positive villages had higher odds of being high-risk villages for all tools, however, this was only significant for the LISA and workshop tools. For the LISA tool, the median risk score was also significantly greater in positive villages. A unit increase in LISA risk score led to a significant increase in the odds of a village being positive for T. solium. Other tools that calculated risk scores also showed similar results, however, were not statistically significant. All positive villages were hotspots for unimproved toilets by the LISA tool. The open defaecation component of the local rapid tool was the only component of any tool to demonstrate a significant relationship with positive T. solium villages.

Conclusions
This first biological validation of T. solium risk-assessment tools demonstrates that there are multiple tools that should be considered for further development. Supporting endemic countries to implement recently developed risk-assessment tools is consistent with the World Health Organization's goal of intensified control of T. solium in hyperendemic areas.

Introduction
Neurocysticercosis due to Taenia solium is the leading cause of epilepsy in low and middle-income countries yet remains under investigated in Lao PDR (Laos). People shedding T. solium eggs or proglottids from the adult tapeworm are the source of infection for those with cysticercosis.

Methods
A matched case–control study of T. solium taeniasis was conducted in northern Laos. Cases were identified by rrnS PCR and sequencing. Risk factor data were collected by standardised questionnaire. Conditional logistic regression assessed the significance of risk factors.

Results
Eighteen cases and 36 controls participated in the study. Only raw pork and undercooked grilled pork were significant risk factors (p < 0.05), however, fermented pork was very close to being significant (p = 0.05). Income, food insecurity, education, being a household head and the number of household members were clearly not significant (p ≥ 0.20).

Conclusions
Raw and undercooked pork have different sources in northern Laos. Raw pork is almost only consumed from wild pigs that are opportunistically caught, whereas undercooked pork is consumed throughout the year from wild, local and commercial pigs. Food safety activities must consider these differences in supply chains.

Background
One Health focuses on sustainable health for humans, animals, and ecosystems. The approach has been well demonstrated, yet most efforts have not been scaled up. Understanding the organisations involved in scaling up processes is critical to translating research into practice. The Lao People's Democratic Republic has successfully implemented One Health projects for multiple decades; however, the organisational network has not been described and scaling up efforts have been limited.

Methods
Data from organisations involved in One Health projects over the past five years were collected by key-informant interview or workshop. The network was investigated using a mixture of quantitative network analysis and qualitative thematic analysis.

Results
The organisational network was quantitatively described as sparse and centralised. Organisations were required to harness pre-existing relationships to maximise scarce resources and make co-ordination and alignment of priorities more efficient. A lack of international organisations in the top 10% of resource sharing metrics suggests a potential disconnect between donors. This was reflected in the challenges faced by national organisations and a feeling of being stretched thin over numerous externally funded projects with donor-driven priorities.

Conclusions
It appears that high-level political support for country ownership of development and aid priorities remains unrealised. Developing network capacity and capability may assist scaling up efforts and build resilience in the network and its core organisations. This may allow for the inclusion of more development, education, environment, and water, sanitation, and hygiene organisations that were perceived to be lacking. Future One Health programmes should focus on practical activities that do not overload staff capacity. There is much for One Health to learn about the art of scaling up and organisations are encouraged to include implementation science in their research to inform future scaling up efforts.

Women-headed households (WHHs) have limited access to agricultural inputs and extension services relative to male-headed households (MHHs) which may lead to yield gaps, poorer livelihoods and greater food insecurity. Since lower fertilizer use by WHHs will restrict crop yield, we examined how limited access to fertilizer inputs and extension services was reflected in nutrient use gaps relative to Government recommendations. A total of 80 WHHs were randomly selected for interview from four Agro-ecological Zones (AEZs) covering five representative districts of Bangladesh to assess, for the first time, nutrient use gaps of WHHs under five rice-based cropping patterns. Data collected from 576 MHHs (reported elsewhere) was also utilized to examine nutrient use gaps, crop yields and farm income between MHHs and WHHs. The nutrient use rates were compared with the government Fertilizer Recommendation Guides (FRG): FRG-2012 and FRG-2018. The WHHs underuse N, P, K, S and Zn under fully rice-based cropping patterns, while MHHs overuse those nutrients, but WHH tend to overuse N, P, and K for patterns with potato and watermelon crops. WHHs seem to prioritize high-value crops for fertilizer use, but even yield was 14%, 11%, 17% and 15% lower for irrigated rice, maize, potato and watermelon, respectively compared to smallholder MHHs under diverse rice-based cropping patterns. Overall, WHHs had 10% and 14% lower farm incomes than MHHs under fully rice-based and high-value cropping patterns, respectively. Financial losses for both WHHs and the government due to overuse of NPK on high-value potato crops were estimated at around 63 and 115 USD ha−1, respectively. However, the socio-demographic information suggested that effective extension services targeted to WHH, easing of social restrictions on their mobility, access of WHHs to fertilizers at Govt. fixed price and improved financial capability through better credit access could bring WHHs towards balanced fertilizer use practices in the EGP.

To improve and sustain farm productivity, farmers require information on inputs, postharvest management and markets, and exposure to new technologies and best practices. Traditionally public agricultural extension agents are the knowledge brokers for farmers. However, government extension has received much criticism due to limited reach and relevance, and poor resourcing. This paper examines the use of a private extension approach that is supporting and educating farmers in groups in two districts of Zambia through farmer-to-farmer extension. This paper shares the experiences and perspectives of farmers who provide the extension services. In doing so, it highlights the tensions within the role of farmers as private service providers and three emergent dilemmas for sustainability of the approach.

Intensifying livestock production by integrating perennial forages has great potential to contribute to sustainable development and livelihoods in the Mekong region. However, the approach taken must be informed by the environmental, social, and cultural context of the region. Accordingly, we review published research papers and reports from relevant research for development projects to identify options for sustainably integrating forages into farming systems, with a focus on sand-dominant soils of southern Laos and Cambodia. First, we examine existing livestock management practices to determine the compatibility of forages as an option to intensify livestock production. Second, we review the environmental properties of rainfed lowland rice systems with sandy soils and their implications for forage growing. Third, we identify and compare the suitability of existing forage genetics that is adapted to these environmental properties. Fourth, we propose adapted varieties, outline appropriate management options, and discuss the sustainable engagement of smallholders in the production of forages. The key findings are as follows: (1) Forages appear compatible with the sociocultural properties of smallholder farming systems in southern Laos and Cambodia because there is an awareness of existing limitations to livestock production, widespread desire to possess livestock for cultural reasons, and mounting pressure to improve the productivity of grazing areas and the efficiency of labor. (2) The limiting properties of the environment are drought, soil acidity, flooding, and soil infertility, which must be addressed in the selection and management of forage genetics. (3) Broadly adapted perennial tropical grasses and herbaceous legumes exist, but these are unlikely to thrive in lowland ecosystems of southern Laos and Cambodia that are prone to both annual flooding and drought. (4) Variations in surface hydrology at the farm scale often result in differentiated environments suitable for differing varieties. Brachiaria sp. hybrid “Mulato II,” Panicum maximum, and Stylosanthes guianensis are recommended for drought-prone, acidic sands that are safe from prolonged submergence and would require the least additional management, whilst Paspalum atratum is recommended for low-lying areas with access to irrigation. (5) The transition to perennial forage integration appears to be accessible to farmers and can allow them to rapidly accumulate benefits in terms of saved labor; however, efforts to intensify animal production have been slow and must contend with multiple challenges: poor understanding of animal husbandry and health, cultural views relating to the role of animals in production systems, and poor access to forage and livestock services. These must all be addressed if sustainably intensified animal production is to be achieved in these and similar regions.

The shift to pluralistic agricultural extension services in Malawi sets the context for this article's focus on the private service provider (PSP) delivery model. The role of the PSP, the alacrity and resistance of smallholder farmers to pay for PSP services, and the challenges experienced in implementing this user-pays approach are examined. We draw on the analytic framework of credibility, salience and legitimacy as germane to understanding uptake and resistance to the PSP model. This article is based on empirical data from a longitudinal qualitative study. Interviews with approximately 50 PSPs and nearly 100 stakeholders from the public, private and non governmental sectors across Malawi were supplemented with focus group discussions with 30 farmer groups in Malawi representing close to 600 smallholders. The results reveal the complexity of shifting to a user-pays system and that PSPs play important roles in delivering services that respond to farmers’ needs. What we are finding in this ongoing research is the uptake by smallholder farmers of the user-pays approach is more likely when all three characteristics of the framework for uptake are attended to – credibility, salience and legitimacy. This article compliments the extant, largely quantitative, literature on willingness to pay by qualitatively teasing out the nuances of farmers’ responses to a user-pays approach in order to explore acts of alacrity and resistance. The findings highlight some practical challenges for agricultural advisory service providers to operationalise the user-pays principle in the Malawi agricultural extension policy. This original empirical research adds to the discourse on farmer development processes. It provides an important example to be learned from in seeking to improve plurality in agricultural extension in sub-Saharan Africa.

Transdisciplinary research is increasingly recognised as important for investigating and addressing 'wicked' problems such as climate change, food insecurity and poverty, but is far from commonplace. There are structural impediments to transdisciplinarity such as university structures, publication requirements and funding preferences that perpetuate disciplinary differences and researchers often lack transdisciplinary experience and expertise. In this paper we present a heuristic that aims to encourage researchers to think about their current research as performance and then imagine different performances, with the view to encouraging reflection and creativity about the transdisciplinary potential and dilemmas. The heuristic is inspired by the metaphor of performance that Erving Goffman uses to understand everyday, face-to-face interactions. The heuristic includes scaffolding for imagining research as performance through a transdisciplinary lens, a suggested process for using the tool, and examples based on the every day research projects. The paper describes the application of the heuristic in a graduate masterclass, reflecting on whether it does indeed 'prompt' transdisciplinary research. Limitations and lessons learned for further refinement of the heuristic are also included. The authors conclude that the heuristic has a range of uses including for self-reflection, and as a practical learning tool that can also be used at the start of integrative research projects.

Purpose – Interdisciplinary approaches to climate change teaching are well justified and arise from the complexity of climate change challenges and the integrated problem-solving responses they demand. These approaches require academic teachers to collaborate across disciplines. Yet, the fragmentation typical of universities impedes collaborative teaching practice. This paper aims to report on the outcomes of a distributed leadership project in four Australian universities aimed at enhancing interdisciplinary climate change teaching. Design/methodology/approach – Communities of teaching practice were established at four Australian universities with participants drawn from a wide range of disciplines. The establishment and operation of these communities relied on a distributed leadership methodology which facilitates acts of initiative, innovation, vision and courage through group interaction rather than through designated hierarchical roles. Findings – Each community of practice found the distributed leadership approach overcame barriers to interdisciplinary climate change teaching. Cultivating distributed leadership enabled community members to engage in peer-led professional learning, collaborative curriculum and pedagogical development, and to facilitate wider institutional change. The detailed outcomes achieved by each community were tailored to their specific institutional context. They included the transformation of climate change curriculum, professional development in interdisciplinary pedagogy, innovation in student-led learning activities, and participation in institutional decision-making related to curriculum reform. Originality/value – Collaborative, non-traditional leadership practices have attracted little attention in research about sustainability education in university curricula. This paper demonstrates that the distributed leadership model for sustainability education reported here is effective in building capacity for interdisciplinary climate change teaching within disciplines. The model is flexible enough for a variety of institutional settings.

Recent research in science communication has assumed a shift from the ‘public understanding of science’ to ‘public engagement with science’, or from ‘deficit’ to ‘democracy’ (Irwin 2006). Evidence of this shift is found, for example, in the European Union-commissioned report that had amongst its mandates (Felt et al, 2007, p.9): ‘How to further the stated EU commitment to improve the involvement of diverse elements of democratic civil society in European science and governance’. Given that many scientists work in science (more broadly, in science, mathematics, engineering and mathematics, STEM) research centres, it is appropriate to investigate how ‘engagement’ issues are understood in such centres. Neresini and Bucchi (2010) analysed 40 European research centres in terms of their ‘engagement activities’. Their analysis led them to conclude that “it is a culture of public engagement that still seems to be lacking among most research institutions in Europe” (p. 14). Is this the case beyond Europe? The research question this paper examines is: How do Australian STEM centres regard public engagement?