Abstract: The alarming rate of urban sprawl poses a social menace for city planners and governments worldwide and Nairobi city of Kenya is not an exception. Challenges of access to appropriate and affordable housing has forced majority of city residents to occupy shanties with deplorable living conditions thus, the need to improve the infrastructure in the slums. In Kenya, the government has initiated various projects in a bid to carry out a facelift of slums countrywide. Although, involvement of key stakeholders in each of the phases of project management lifecycle (PMLC) that is, project initiation, planning, implementation, Monitoring & evaluation and closure remains a critical factor to the realization of slum upgrading infrastructure development, the affected communities are not fully engaged thus thwarting effective implementation of the planned activities. In this regard, the aim of the study was to examine the influence of PMLC on performance of slums upgrading projects (PSUP). A descriptive survey research design and a correlational research design were utilized whereby data was analysed and interpreted using means, standard deviations, correlation of coefficient and correlation of determination. A sample of 266 was drawn from a target population of 794, of which 208 responded to a 5-point Likert Scale questionnaire. Qualitative data collected was presented in narrative form. Results obtained indicated a linearly positive and a very strong significant relationship between PMLC and PSUP. When all phases were combined PMLC explained 62.9% of the overall variation in PSUP. The findings indicate that a unit increase in initiation and planning stages result to an increase in PSUP by 7.77% and 1.97% respectively whereas for a unit decrease in project implementation and project M&E, PSUP decreases by 2.07% and 1.72% respectively. It was thus concluded that PMLC significantly influences Performance of Slum Upgrading Projects. The recommendation of the study was that activities pertaining to project planning, M&E and project closure phases be efficiently executed for optimum performance of the projects. PubDate: Tue, 23 Jul 2024 07:40:29 +000
Abstract: Commercialization of food crops, such as maize can dynamically shift control over productive resources or accrued income from women to men. This can restrict women’s ability to access or buy productive inputs. However, scanty information is available on how changing gender roles and relations can affect smallholder farmers’ use of sustainable intensification practices. This study described how gender inequalities in access to resources and appropriation of gains affect the uptake of sustainable intensification (SI) practices among maize commercializing farmers in eastern Uganda. Qualitative Survey data collected from a random sub-sample of 72 (36 women and 36 men) maize farmers from 584 maize commercializing smallholder farmers survey participants, was subjected to thematic content analysis. It was intended to follow up four unique profiles of farmers; those who did not use SI practices, the ones who used only intensification (improve maize varieties and fertilizers) or sustainable practices (organic manure and maize-legume intercrop), and those who used joint, one or more sustainable intensification practices. Findings revealed all four profiles to be highly gendered. Only women did not use any SI practice, and only men used intensification practices due to gender roles, responsibilities, and tasks shaped by traditions that give men terminal control over productive assets and gained resources. Both men and women used sustainable and sustainable intensification practices because of the negotiation process and opportunities that gave women more rights over resources. Thus, social-cultural histories and values constrain married women from implementing innovations such as SI practices because these values restrict women’s authority over productive resources. It is recommended that for inclusive transformative interventions to be introduced successfully in rigid patriarchal contexts, it is vital to enhance the negotiation skills of women. PubDate: Mon, 15 Jul 2024 10:03:58 +000
Abstract: Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, as the Visegrad Group members in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), play important roles in the green economy transition of Europe. The four CEE countries issued low carbon development strategies so as to realize climate change mitigation. However, the four countries faced various political and economic difficulties when transiting to a low carbon economy, including the energy consumption structure, the development of clean energy and the geopolitical conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The paper analyzed the factors influencing carbon emissions in the four CEE countries by using the STIRPAT model. Based on the empirical results, the paper put forward countermeasures and suggestions to promote low carbon development for the four CEE countries. PubDate: Thu, 11 Jul 2024 06:13:30 +000
Abstract: Boron (B) is important for the nutrition and development of sunflower crops because of the damage that its deficiency can cause in plants, compromising the final crop productivity. This work aimed to evaluate the application of B doses at different phenological stages of the sunflower crop. The project was conducted in the experimental area of the Goiás State University, Campus of Ipameri, located in Ipameri-GO, in a randomized block design, arranged in a 2 x 5 x 6 factorial scheme, with four replications. The factors consisted of crop seasons (2017 and 2018), application at different phenological stages (V0, V6, V18, R1, and R3), and B doses (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 kg ha-1), respectively. In each crop season, leaf boron content, relative chlorophyll index, plant height, stem diameter, capitulum diameter, capitulum mass, number of achenes per capitulum, 1000-achene weight, and achene yield were assessed. The use of doses between 3.38 and 3.74 Kg ha-1 of B influenced the characteristics of leaf boron content, plant height, and 1000-achene weight. Most of the parameters assessed, including crop yield, were influenced by crop seasons due to rainfall distribution during the crop cycle. The 2017 off-season had the best results. PubDate: Mon, 24 Jun 2024 09:01:49 +000
Abstract: In the last 20 years, the world has seen increasing use of Artificial intelligence (AI) in many disciplines, one of these disciplines is Architecture. This research aims to study the effect of using AI in Architecture schools, especially design studios, in which phase, and in what percentage.The methodology of the research is applied for AI programs in four main design steps: The concept phase developing the design, coloring and developing the elevations, rendering phasing by using the AI, and distributing a survey to Design 7 students to register their responses using AI in Architecture design selected case studies from students work was selected to reflect the research works.The results from the survey show that the students achieved applying AI in concept development by 75%, in the development design process by 72.54%, in coloring by 50%, in rendering by 48%, sustainability by 70%, and in developing building form and structure by 72.3%.The conclusion of the research recommends applying AI in the whole design process including concept development, developing design process, coloring, rendering, form, and structure under the teacher's supervision, and recommends teaching AI as a course in architecture engineering colleges. PubDate: Mon, 24 Jun 2024 08:50:11 +000
Abstract: This study aimed to assess the performance of commercial corn hybrids with the application of Trichoderma harzianum under varying nitrogen levels. The experiment was conducted at the State University of Goiás, Campus Sul, during the 2022/23 harvest. The experimental design employed a factorial scheme 9 x 3, involving nine commercial hybrids and three nitrogen doses, randomized in blocks with three replications. Three nitrogen doses were applied: control (160 kg ha-1 of nitrogen), low nitrogen (80 kg ha-1 of nitrogen), and low nitrogen (80 kg ha-1 + Trichoderma harzianum). The evaluation encompassed ear height, plant height, relative chlorophyll index, stem diameter, number of rows, number of lines, and dry grain mass. The hybrids 2M77, 2M80, P3898, and P4285 exhibited superior efficiency with 80 kg ha-1 of nitrogen, while DKB390 and P3898 demonstrated the highest responsiveness to the recommended dose of 160 kg ha-1 of nitrogen. The inoculation of Trichoderma harzianum, combined with 80 kg ha-1 of nitrogen, resulted in increased grain mass, in the hybrids 30A91PW, DKB390, GNZ7280, P4285, and RK3014, with variable benefits across different characteristics. However, it is advisable to limit the use of Trichoderma harzianum to these specific commercial cultivars. PubDate: Thu, 20 Jun 2024 08:21:43 +000
Abstract: Extreme climate change causes an immeasurable threat to the livelihood security and prosperity of rural communities, including the natural environment and resources managed by the local people in the Kgalagadi District of Botswana. The study aims to understand the indigenous ecological knowledge of local communities about climate change, its impacts on the environment, and their livelihoods across five villages in the Kgalagadi District of Botswana. The present study used a semi-structured questionnaire survey at the household level who were randomly selected using the village register book. The results indicated that all the respondents in Kang village and some from Lehututu and Tshane villages perceived that the causes of climate change were unknown. However, some respondents across the other four villages believed that climate change is caused by various factors including wildfires, pollution from industries, impacts from livestock, and vehicles, as well as a curse from God. Indigenous knowledge must be well incorporated with scientific methods and up-to-date climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies to envisage more concrete results. This helps to integrate the insight of local people into policies and strategies to make an effort for solutions that are crucial for sustainable development. We suggest that all stakeholders should harmonise the use of indigenous knowledge with climate change strategies, to make the best use of its contribution to the successful execution of climate change policies. PubDate: Wed, 19 Jun 2024 07:47:01 +000
Abstract: In recent years, the integrated Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus approach has gained traction as a more effective way to manage these interdependent and essential resources. A growing number of traditional food and water irrigation systems in Oregon, USA are transitioning to modernized, holistic, and sustainable Hydro-Irrigation-Restoration Systems that embrace the WEF Nexus approach (Weber 2017). The question is: what factors explain the successful transition' Two cases of irrigation modernization in Hood River, Oregon demonstrate that system transitions follow a pattern of socio-technical change wherein four structural factors are key: economic incentives, changing values expressed in regulations, technological innovation, and external shocks (e.g., major disasters). Yet, while the structural variables associated with the social-technical change approach are necessary for explaining the transitions to new WEF systems in Hood River, they are not sufficient. The case studies display the crucial importance of individual agency, or the actor dynamics capable of enabling or hindering system transformations (see Van Driel and Schot 2005, 54). Chief among these “agency” factors are (1) facilitative, visionary, trust-worthy leadership, (2) the cultivation of trust and collaborative problem-solving capacity, (3) the willingness to embrace risk and trade short-term costs for the potential of long term gains (e.g., low discount rates), and (4) the adoption of a new set of ideas, or shared norms, governing decision-making which embraced the idea that an integrated, modernized system could simultaneously promote economic, environmental, and energy sustainability. PubDate: Tue, 28 May 2024 07:16:45 +000
Open Access journal
[43 journals]
