Solomon Islands: Malaita Hub scoping report

The CGIAR Research Program (CRP) Aquatic Agricultural Systems (AAS) will target five countries, including Solomon Islands. The proposed hubs for Solomon Islands were to cover most provinces, referencing the Western, Central and Eastern regions. Scoping of the initial ‘Central’ hub was undertaken in Guadalcanal, Malaita and Central Islands provinces and this report details findings from all three. As scoping progressed however, it was agreed that, based on the AAS context and priority needs of each province and the Program’s capacity for full implementation, the Central Hub would be restricted to Malaita Province only and renamed “Malaita Hub”. Consistent in each AAS country, there are four steps in the program rollout: planning, scoping, diagnosis and design. Rollout of the Program in Solomon Islands began with a five month planning phase between August and December 2011, and scoping of the first hub began in January 2012. This report, the second to be produced during rollout, describes the findings from the scoping process between January and June 2012. This report marks the transition from the scoping phase to the diagnosis phase in which output from scoping was used to develop a hub level theory of change for identifying research opportunities. Subsequent reports detail in-depth analyses of gender, governance, nutrition and partner activities and discuss Program engagement with community members to identify grass-roots demand for research

Entrepreneurship Summit Executive Summary

Summarizes discussions from an April 2008 conference on the core components of an effective entrepreneurship support program, policy options for building an infrastructure that fosters innovation, and concepts to be explored, such as "economic gardening.

Sustainability and the City: New Kensington CDC's Sustainable 19125 Initiative

New Kensington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC), an organization long dedicated to revitalizing the East Kensington, Fishtown, and Port Richmond neighborhoods of Philadelphia, launched an urban sustainability initiative in 2009 called "Sustainable 19125." The initiative's goal is to make the 19125 ZIP code the most sustainable ZIP code in the city

The Seedling Sanctuary: Automated Cold Frame for Gardner Elementary

The purpose of this report is to provide the details of the Seedling Sanctuary, a mechanical engineering senior design project. The project in question is an automated cold frame designed specifically for Gardner Academy, a local elementary school in San Jose. A cold frame is a miniature greenhouse that opens like a chest and is made from clear plastic. Automated ventilation and watering systems create a microclimate within this greenhouse structure to create the ideal growing conditions for seeds. The main purposes of the cold frame are to lengthen the growing season, be maintenance free, and enhance garden education. From testing, the project goals were verified to have been achieved through several performance metrics. First, the system’s ability to lengthen the growing season is dependent on germinating seedlings that can be planted earlier in the season. The automated system maintained the seedlings at the proper soil moisture levels to grow. The system also implemented passive temperature control systems to maintain the plants in ideal conditions. With the ventilation and thermal mass, the system is able to be cooler at the hottest times of day and warmer at night than unprotected plants. The system has also successfully automated the care of the seedlings, achieving our goal of being maintenance free. Finally, the enhancement of garden education was incorporated through community engagement with the design and building of the cold frame, as well as the Bluetooth application which will be used in the school curriculum

The role of re-appropriation in open design : a case study on how openness in higher education for industrial design engineering can trigger global discussions on the theme of urban gardening

This case study explores the opportunities for students of Industrial Design Engineering to engage with direct and indirect stakeholders by making their design process and results into open-ended Designed Solutions. The reported case study involved 47 students during a two-weeks intensive course on the topic of urban gardening. Observations were collected during three distinctive phases: the co-design phase, the creation of an Open Design and the sharing of these design solutions on the online platform Instructables.com. The open sharing of local solutions triggered more global discussions, based on several types of feedbacks: from simple questions to reference to existing works and from suggestions to critiques. Also some examples of re-appropriation of the designed solutions were reported. These feedbacks show the possibilities for students to have a global vision on their local solutions, confronting them with a wider and more diverse audience. The case study shows on the other hand the difficulty in keeping students engaged in this global discussion, considering how after a few weeks the online discussions dropped to an almost complete silence. It is also impossible with such online platforms to follow the re-appropriation cycles, losing the possibility of exploring the new local context were the replication / modification of the designed product occurred. The course’s focus on Open Design is interesting both under the design and educational points of view. It implies a deep change in the teaching approach and learning attitude of students, allowing unknown peers to take part of the design process and fostering a global discussion starting from unique and local solutions

E-HOME, A LIFESTYLE AND COMFORTABLE TECHNOLOGY

Technology has become an essential part of our homes, which are places that should be easy and peaceful to live in. That’s why I imagine a concept that take all the technology necessary in your home, integrate it and make it simple and easy to use for everybody. This concept is based on idea that eliminates remote controls or something like this. Also this concept should propose you a lot of possible decision that you could take. These decisions refers on easy living in a normal home, such as climate, water temperature, lightning, multimedia, such as TV’s, VCR’s, DVD’s, but also decisions about eating, paying taxes, investments, interfaces with public institutions and so on. This concept I name it e-Home. I imagine this concept with many modules, refers on easy living in such a home, referring on what do you eat, calories consume, food storage and clothes and about possible decision to take in matter of paying and investments of your family.technology, interfaces, neural network, software, artificial intelligence

Urban agriculture as an integral part of urban growth management strategies and the implications on urban form policy: the case of Auckland NZ

Urban agriculture potential is examined in three suburbs of increasing density in Auckland, NZ. A review of the relationship between urban indicators (net density and housing patterns) and potential solar energy available at ground level is done. Since soils are generally fertile and water readily available solar access to ground level becomes an indicator of productivity. Using the subtraction method and satellite photography from Auckland council GIS viewer, potentially productive land is estimated in three residential blocks-Mt Eden, Sandrigham and New Lynn. Based on the results the food energy potential of each site is determined. Preliminary results indicate that low density New Lynn has the highest potential for sustainability with surplus food energy. Medium density Sandrigham could meet 50 per cent of its vegetable dietary requirement while high density Mt Eden is unsustainable in UA. Recommendations are suggested as to how UA maybe integrated in urban growth strategies

Afterschool in Action: Innovative Afterschool Programs Supporting Middle School Youth

This report, released by Afterschool Alliance in partnership with MetLife Foundation, highlights the work of quality afterschool programs that support children, families and communities across the nation.This compendium is a compilation of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This series explores afterschool and: arts enrichment, parent engagement, school improvement and digital learning. The compendium also includes in-depth profiles of the 2012 Afterschool Innovator Award winners, as well as highlights from 2008-2011 award winners.The 2012 MetLife Foundation Afterschool Award winners are:The Wooden Floor, Santa Ana, CALatino Arts Strings & Mariachi Juvenil, Milwaukee, WIKid Power Inc., The VeggieTime Project, Washington, D.C.Parma Learning Center, Parma, IDGreen Energy Technologies in the City, Lansing, M

IMPACT: The Journal of the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning. Volume 2, Issue 2, Summer 2013

Impact: The Journal of the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching & Learning is a peer-reviewed, biannual online journal that publishes scholarly and creative non-fiction essays about the theory, practice and assessment of interdisciplinary education. Impact is produced by the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching & Learning at the College of General Studies, Boston University (www.bu.edu/cgs/citl)