scholarly journals Practices and Barriers to Sustainable Urban Agriculture: A Case Study of Louisville, Kentucky

Urban Science ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 92
Author(s):  
Leigh Whittinghill ◽  
Sait Sarr

As urban populations increase, there is growing interest in developing innovative technologies, sustainable urban farming practices, policy measures, and other strategies to address key barriers in urban agriculture that impede improved food security and sustained urban livelihoods. We surveyed forty urban farmers and gardeners (growers) in Louisville, Kentucky, for base-level information to assess their agricultural practices and the various factors or key barriers that could influence such practices. Secondary objectives were identifying areas where practices could be improved, and identifying opportunities for research, outreach, and incentives for urban growers to transition to more sustainable and higher-yielding practices. The majority of these urban growers were white females, were more diverse than Kentucky farmers, and attained a higher degree of education than Kentucky residents as a whole. Most were engaged in urban agriculture for non-commercial reasons, and 11% were full-time urban growers operating farms for profit. Smaller farms were less likely to be operated for profit or have farm certifications than medium-sized or larger farms (Chi-squared = 14.459, p = 0.042). We found no significant differences among farm sizes in terms of whether growers rented or owned the land they were on (Chi-squared = 9.094, p = 0.168). The most common sustainable practices recorded were composting (60%), crop rotation (54%), polyculture (54%), organic farming (49%), and low or no-till (46%). The least common practices were alley cropping (5%), plasticulture (3%), and hydroponics (3%). Small farms were less likely to use crop rotation than medium-sized or large farms (Chi-squared = 13.548, p = 0.003), and farms responding to the survey in the latter part of the data collection were less likely to use compost than expected based on responses from the early part of data collection (Chi-shared = 5.972, p = 0.014). Challenges faced by these growers included limited space, accessibility to farm certification, presence of pests and diseases, and lack of record keeping and soil testing for fertility and contamination. Our study documents the need for more farm certification, education, outreach, training, research, investment, innovative ideas and solutions, collaboration among stakeholders, and better access to land through favorable urban policies and local support.

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
MUNIRAH MUNIRAH ◽  
HUSAIN SYARIFUDDIN

This study aimed to describe the value of cohesion and coherence contained in the translation of the Qur'an surah Al Zalzalah. This study was a qualitative descriptive research, research data collection techniques using three techniques namely, inventory, rading and understanding, and record keeping. The data analysis used the coding of data, classification data, and the determination of the data. The results showed that the cohesion markers used in the translation of surah Al Zalzalah discourse are: 1) reference, 2) pronouns, ie pronouns second person, and third, the relative pronoun, the pronoun pointer, pen pronouns and pronouns owner, 3 ) conjunctions, namely temporal conjunctions, coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions, and conjunctions koorelatif, and 4) a causal ellipsis. It mean that there was a coherence in the translation of surah Al Zalzalah discourse are: the addition or addition, pronouns, repetition or repetition, match words or synonyms, in whole or in part, a comparison or ratio of conclusions or results. Keywords: Cohesion, Coherence, sura Al Zalzalah AbstrakPenelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan nilai kohesi dan koherensi yang terdapat dalam terjemahan Al-Qur’an surah Al Zalzalah. Jenis penelitian ini termasuk jenis penelitian deskriptif kualitatif, Teknik pengumpulan data penelitian menggunakan tiga teknik yakni, inventarisasi, baca simak, dan pencatatan. Teknik analisis data menggunakan pengodean data, pengklasifikasian data, dan penentuan data. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pemarkah kohesi yang digunakan dalam wacana terjemahan surah Al Zalzalah adalah: 1) referensi, 2) pronomina, yaitu kata ganti orang kedua, dan ketiga, kata ganti penghubung, kata ganti penunjuk, kata ganti penanya dan kata ganti empunya, 3) konjungsi, yaitu konjungsi temporal, konjungsi koordinatif, konjungsi subordinatif, dan konjungsi koorelatif, dan 4) elipsis kausal. Sarana koherensi yang terdapat di dalam wacana terjemahan surah Al Zalzalah adalah: penambahan atau adisi, pronomina, pengulangan atau repetisi, padan kata atau sinonim, keseluruhan atau bagian, komparasi atau perbandingan simpulan atau hasil.Kata Kunci: Kohesi, Koherensi, surah Al Zalzalah


Soil Systems ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Haddish Melakeberhan ◽  
Gregory Bonito ◽  
Alexandra N. Kravchenko

Soil health connotes the balance of biological, physicochemical, nutritional, structural, and water-holding components necessary to sustain plant productivity. Despite a substantial knowledge base, achieving sustainable soil health remains a goal because it is difficult to simultaneously: (i) improve soil structure, physicochemistry, water-holding capacity, and nutrient cycling; (ii) suppress pests and diseases while increasing beneficial organisms; and (iii) improve biological functioning leading to improved biomass/crop yield. The objectives of this review are (a) to identify agricultural practices (APs) driving soil health degradations and barriers to developing sustainable soil health, and (b) to describe how the nematode community analyses-based soil food web (SFW) and fertilizer use efficiency (FUE) data visualization models can be used towards developing sustainable soil health. The SFW model considers changes in beneficial nematode population dynamics relative to food and reproduction (enrichment index, EI; y-axis) and resistance to disturbance (structure index, SI; x-axis) in order to identify best-to-worst case scenarios for nutrient cycling and agroecosystem suitability of AP-driven outcomes. The FUE model visualizes associations between beneficial and plant-parasitic nematodes (x-axis) and ecosystem services (e.g., yield or nutrients, y-axis). The x-y relationship identifies best-to-worst case scenarios of the outcomes for sustainability. Both models can serve as platforms towards developing integrated and sustainable soil health management strategies on a location-specific or a one-size-fits-all basis. Future improvements for increased implementation of these models are discussed.


Conservation ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-35
Author(s):  
Kazi Kamrul Islam ◽  
Mohammad Saifullah ◽  
Kimihiko Hyakumura

In the tropics, products and services provided by the traditional agroforestry systems (TAS) support the basic needs and promote the livelihood of millions of rural people. However, the outcomes and mitigation of TAS, in particular, the social and environmental issues are not systematically addressed. Thus, the objective of the study was to assess the economic, social and environmental outcomes of two important TAS in Bangladesh. This study reports results on prospective analyses using the Date palm and Jackfruit-based TAS practiced in the Jashore and Mymensingh districts of Bangladesh. The results revealed that the TAS enhanced farm productivity and the benefit–cost ratio of both systems were much higher than the general agricultural practices in Bangladesh. The TAS also improved resilience of rural farmers through more efficient water utilization, enhancing soil fertility, improving microclimate, controlling pests and diseases, and diversifying products. At the same time, the farmers’ problems were neglected due to the absence of farmers’ platforms, and also tradeoffs may arise; thus, the social aspects of the TAS farmers had not developed equally. Therefore, the study would recommend minimizing the tradeoffs through enhancing the conservation strategies at farmers’ levels to make the TAS more viable and sustainable land-use practices.


1994 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 281-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan D. Knight ◽  
John D. Mumford

All farmers and growers have at some time faced the decision of whether to control a pest in their crop. In order to make the correct decision the farmer needs access to, and an understanding of, sufficient information relevant to such pest problems. Decision support systems are able to help farmers make these difficult decisions by providing information in an easily understandable and quickly accessed form. The increasing use of computers by farmers for record-keeping and business management is putting the hardware necessary for the implementation of these systems onto more and more farms. The scarcity of expert advice, increasingly complex decisions and reduced economic margins all increase the importance of making the right pest management decision at the right time. It is against this background that decision support systems have an important role to play in the fight against losses caused by pests and diseases.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Dao Truong

Purpose Although the social marketing field has developed relatively quickly, little is known about the careers of students who chose social marketing as their main subject of study. Such research is important not only because it reveals employment trends and mobility but also because it informs policy making with respect to curriculum development as well as raises governmental and societal interest in the social marketing field. This paper aims to analyse the career pathways of doctoral graduates who examined social marketing as the subject of their theses. Doctoral graduates represent a special group in a knowledge economy, who are considered the best qualified for the creation and dissemination of knowledge and innovation. Design/methodology/approach A search strategy identified 209 doctoral-level social marketing theses completed between 1971 and 2015. A survey was then delivered to dissertation authors, which received 117 valid responses. Findings Results indicate that upon graduation, most graduates secured full-time jobs, where about 66 per cent worked in higher education, whereas the others worked in the government, not-for-profit and private sectors. Currently, there is a slight decline in the number of graduates employed in the higher education, government and not-for-profit sectors but an increase in self-employed graduates. A majority of graduates are working in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. Overall, levels of international mobility and research collaboration are relatively low. Originality/value This is arguably the first study to examine the career paths of social marketing doctoral graduates.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 2070-2072
Author(s):  
Farhan Riaz ◽  
Saima Sabir ◽  
Umer Abdullah ◽  
Muhammad Shairaz Sadiq ◽  
Ejaz Husain Sahu ◽  
...  

Objective: of this study is to analyze the behavior/attitude of general dental practitioners towards record keeping and quality assessment of patient records found in different dental practices of Lahore. Study design: Cross sectional, Descriptive, Questionnaire based study (Copy of questionnaire attached). Place and Duration of Study: Data collection for this study was conducted in different private dental practices of Lahore from Oct-2017 to Dec-2017. Methods; A random sample of 60 dental practices were selected by means of stratified sampling from different towns of Lahore. Dentists were interviewed and patient records were checked for data collection which is analyzed using SPSS version 23. Results: Interview of 43 dentists and analysis of patient records from their practices revealed that 16 (37.2%) practices have no record at all and even none of the remaining 27 (62.8%) practices. Who claim to have patient records, has any properly completed record. Shows that dentists have got very casual behavior towards record keeping as most of them were not having any records and the remaining ones who claimed to have patient records, were maintaining them in a very poor form. Conclusion: Female dentists, postgraduates and dentists working in group practices and affluent areas were found to have relatively more tendency towards record keeping. Recommendation; Dentist training institutes and health implementing authorities are the main areas which need to be stressed upon for improvement of record keeping. Keywords: (MESH) Record keeping, Dental photography, Dentist, Post-graduate, Health authorities, Affluent areas.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-166
Author(s):  
Rachma Frattiwi

This research was conducted at the Yogya Purwakarta Toserba Food Court. The problem that occurred at the Yogya Purwakarta Toserba Food Court was that the concept of the collaboration agreement that was carried out tended to be wrong. The purpose of this study was first to determine the cooperation agreement undertaken by the UMKM with the "Yogya Rasa", namely the system of cooperation agreements for results. Cooperation agreement for profit sharing here is a cooperation agreement made by one party with another party. Where one party provides facilities or infrastructure in the form of a place in the form of a counter while the other party occupies the counter with a profit sharing system. second to find out the suitability of the Musyarakah contract concept. The cooperation agreement that has been carried out by the UMKM with the manager of Yogya Toserba Food Court is in accordance with the Syirkah Mudharabah concept in which this collaboration is carried out by the first party contributing capital and work at the same time while the second party only contributes only venture capital while profits are shared according to mutual agreement. This research uses descriptive qualitative analysis approach method. Data collection can be done by the method of observation, interviews and documentation


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Usha Nandhini Devi Harinarayanan ◽  
Pugalendhi Lakshmanan

Present day agricultural practices are posing a serious threat to the human population due to unscrupulous use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Conventional agricultural practices wherein large quantities and unscrupulous use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides are no longer safer as it directly enter the food chain. Hence, organic cultivation of vegetables is gaining momentum among the growing population. Organic practices rely on crop rotations, crop residues, plant and animal manures, growing of legume and green manure crops and biological control of pests and diseases. It aims to combine tradition, innovation and science in a balanced proportion to utilize the environment in safer manner and maintain ecological balance. Organic cultivation assures protection of the environment and plays a major role on the economy of a nation. Sustainable production of organic vegetables needs to be ensured to fetch premium price in the domestic as well as international markets. Organic farming has shown expansion in the recent years in the European countries offering scope for a better price in the international market.


Author(s):  
Anita Rosli ◽  
Alias Radam ◽  
Khalid Abdul Rahim ◽  
Amin Mahir Abdullah

This study aimed to estimate the technical efficiency among pepper (Piper nigrum. L) farmers in Sarawak, Malaysia, using Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA). SFA involves a one-step process that can estimate technical inefficacy factors simultaneously with the production frontier. 678 pepper farmers were involved in this study, and the data were collected from 2012 to 2013. The mean score for technical efficiency was 0.518, indicating that pepper farmers were not efficient. However, the inefficiency model showed that education level, membership in farmers’ association, full-time as a pepper farmer, attending courses and visiting sample farms were factors that significantly improved inefficiency. The major problem of pepper farming in Sarawak is poor agricultural practices where farmers do not fully utilize the available agricultural inputs to produce maximum output. Based on the findings, farmers must improve their knowledge and skills in pepper farming through agronomic education.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald N. Anderson

The spread of GPS-based location services using smartphone applications has led to therapid growth of new startups offering smartphone-enabled dispatch service for taxicabs, limousines,and ridesharing vehicles. This change in communicative technology has been accompanied by thecreation of new categories of car service, particularly as drivers of limousines and private vehicles usethe apps to provide on-demand service of a kind previously reserved for taxicabs. One of the mostcontroversial new models of car service is for-profit ridesharing, which combines the for-profit modelof taxi service with the overall traffic reduction goals of ridesharing. A preliminary attempt is heremade at understanding how for-profit ridesharing compares to traditional taxicab and ridesharingmodels. Ethnographic interviews are drawn on to illustrate the range of motivations and strategies usedby for-profit ridesharing drivers in San Francisco, California as they make use of the service. A rangeof driver strategies is identified, ranging from incidental, to part-time, to full-time driving. This makespossible a provisional account of the potential ecological impacts of the spread of this model of carservice, based on the concept of taxicab efficiency, conceived as the ratio of shared vs. unshared milesdriven.


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