Diet is a modifiable contributor to health. The lack of adherence to recommended dietary guidelines may contribute to the disproportionate burden of obesity and other chronic conditions observed in the Deep South region of the United States. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to describe food group intake and diet quality by race and weight status of women in the Deep South. Study participants were eighty-nine healthy female volunteers (56 % black, 44 % white, mean age 39⋅7 ± 1⋅4 years) recruited from Birmingham, AL, USA. Body Mass Index (BMI) determined weight status (non-obese/obese). Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-2010) calculated from dietary recalls assessed diet quality. Wilcoxon sum-rank test compared HEI-2010 scores by race and weight status. χ2 analysis compared the percentage of women who achieved maximum points for HEI-2010 index food components by subgroup. Caloric and macronutrient intake did not differ by race or weight status (mean kcal 1863⋅0 ± 62⋅0). Median Total HEI-2010 Score for the sample was 51⋅9 (IQR: 39⋅1–63⋅4). Although there was no statistical difference in diet quality by race, more whites achieved the maximum score for vegetable intake compared to blacks, while blacks reported higher total fruit intake. Non-obese women reported better diet quality (56⋅9 v. 46⋅1; P = 0⋅04) and eating more whole fruits, and more achieved the maximum score for protein from plant and seafood sources. In summary, differences in diet quality were observed by weight status, but not race among this sample. These results point to tailored dietary interventions for women in metropolitan areas of Alabama, USA.

Confederate monuments are a contested piece of the public landscape. Debates generally focus on the division between “heritage” and “hate,” but some scholars have argued that the meaning of monuments is more complex. There is little research examining variation among Confederate monuments, but this may be critical to understanding their social foundations and consequences. We provide insight into Confederate monuments and their complexity by examining their inscriptions and how the use of different inscriptions changed over time and varies between the Upper South and Deep South. We employ content analysis to organize the inscriptions associated with 856 Confederate monuments located in public spaces throughout the U.S. South into common themes. Our results suggest three distinct types of inscriptions: those connected to the lost cause ideology that glorifies the Confederacy and its cause; those that were comparatively plain in their description of people, places, and events; and others that focused exclusively on mourning the death of Confederate soldiers. The majority of monuments (59%) contain a Lost Cause inscription. Plain monuments comprise 35%, and only 6% of public Confederate monuments were dedicated purely to the dead. Our descriptive analysis also indicates substantial temporal and spatial variation in the use of these different types of inscriptions. Despite sharing a connection to the Confederacy, we assert that the specific messages associated with a monument are more varied and, in part, reflect the social conditions of the time and place in which they were built.

The conflict between the Thai state and the Malay-Muslim insurgency in the country's Deep South is one of Southeast Asia's most persistent internal security challenges. The start of the current period of violence dates back to the early 2000s, and since then, a significant number of studies exploring the renewed escalation have been published. In this study, we argue that existing scholarship has not adequately accounted for the external environment in which political decisions were taken on how to deal with the southern insurgency. We seek to show how the internationally dominant, hegemonic security agenda of so-called non-traditional security (NTS) influenced the Thai government's approach to the conflict. Building upon the Copenhagen School's securitisation theory, we show how the insurgency became securitised under the dominant NTS narrative, leading to the adoption of harsh measures and alienating discourses that triggered the escalation of violence that continues today. The specific NTS frameworks that ‘distorted’ the Thai state's approach of one that had been informed solely by local facts and conditions were those of anti-narcotics and Islamist terrorism, albeit in different ways. Based on the findings from the case study, the article concludes with a reflection on the role of the hegemonic NTS agenda and its implications for Southeast Asian politics and scholarship.