Child-dog faeces assemblages and children’s engagements in activist art

Abstract

We would like to thank the schools, children and staff who participated in the project and our partners in this work: Clare Marshall at Sustainable Learning, Kurt James who led the Bristol Clean Streets Programme and Mayor Marvin Rees who supported and championed the work. We would also like to thank the amazing students who co-developed and delivered the learning materials in schools and supported schools on the day to collect data:

WormWatch: Park soil surveillance reveals extensive Toxocara contamination across the UK and Ireland

“…However, studies have repeatedly found that measures to reduce dog fouling, including legislation, education and separation, are only partially effective. [40][41][42][43][44] Good hygiene, meanwhile, especially hand washing after contact with soil and before eating, can reduce risks of egg ingestion by people, but is evidently not followed universally enough to eliminate cases of toxocarosis. Eggs can also reach home environments by carriage on shoes and dogs' paws, expanding the possible routes to people.…”

“…In principle, egg supply from pet dogs to public environments could be eliminated by rigorous removal of dog faeces by their owners. However, studies have repeatedly found that measures to reduce dog fouling, including legislation, education and separation, are only partially effective 40‐44 . Good hygiene, meanwhile, especially hand washing after contact with soil and before eating, can reduce risks of egg ingestion by people, but is evidently not followed universally enough to eliminate cases of toxocarosis.…”

Girls engaging in activism to end child marriage in Sierra Leone: Negotiating power, interacting with others and redefining their own lives

“…Social scientists have been exploring, defining and documenting children's participation during the last three decades in order to influence policy and practice, with a particular focus on children's engagement in decision‐making processes (Marshall et al, 2015; Percy‐Smith, 2011; Thomas, 2012). Equally, a new wave of scholarship has also contributed to child activism being understood as a form of children's participation, with powerful examples being drawn from child activism on climate change, education, gun control and child marriage (Cuevas‐Parra, 2020; Hillstrom, 2019; O'Brien et al, 2018; Prakoso et al, 2021; Tisdall & Cuevas‐Parra, 2020; Watson et al, 2021). Groups of children in different countries have engaged in activism to make a change, a decision which is dictated by many intertwined factors, such as the personal, the political and the social (Bosco, 2010; Nolas et al, 2016).…”