"Edible" urban forests as part of inclusive, sustainable cities

Feeding an increasingly urban population and ensuring the economic and social well-being of urban dwellers will be the primary challenge for cities in coming decades. The impacts of climate change are expected to slow down urban economic growth, exacerbate environmental degradation, increase poverty and erode urban food security. Many cities are on a quest for more sustainable urbanization pathways that will enable effective responses to the increasing socio-economic and environmental challenges they face. In the search to \u201cmake cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable\u201d (Sustainable Development Goal 11 in the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda 2030), interest is increasing in growing local food. Edible green infrastructure, mainly in the form of urban food forests and trees (referred to here generally as urban food forests and also sometimes as tree-based edible landscaping), can help address a range of problems caused by rapid and unplanned urbanization, such as food scarcity, poverty, the deterioration of human health and well-being, air pollution, and biodiversity loss. The use of edible plants in urban and peri-urban forestry varies among cities and is influenced by historical, cultural and socio-economic factors. Overall, it has tended to be neglected in modern cities. This article explores the potential of urban and peri-urban forests as sources of food and the role that urban food forests can play in fostering sustainable cities

Rethinking the participatory web: A history of HotWired’s “new publishing paradigm,” 1994–1997

This article critically interrogates key assumptions in popular web discourse by revisiting an early example of web ‘participation.’ Against the claim that Web 2.0 technologies ushered in a new paradigm of participatory media, I turn to the history of HotWired, Wired magazine’s ambitious web-only publication launched in 1994. The case shows how debates about the value of amateur participation vis-à-vis editorial control have long been fundamental to the imagination of the web’s difference from existing media. It also demonstrates how participation may be conceptualized and designed in ways that extend (rather than oppose) 'old media' values like branding and a distinctive editorial voice. In this way, HotWired's history challenges the technology-centric change narrative underlying Web 2.0 in two ways: first, by revealing historical continuity in place of rupture, and, second, showing that 'participation' is not a uniform effect of technology, but rather something constructed within specific social, cultural and economic contexts

Moving Targets: Instruction with iPads

This contributed paper details a project involving the creation of a mobile instruction ‘classroom in a box’, which consisted of twelve iPads, a laptop and a charging cart. What went well, what was changed, some recommendations, and how the tablets have been most commonly used, in a competitive exposure to library resources called Library Rally in the first year Communication and English classes, are covered

The School Food Revolution: Public Food and the Challenge of Sustainable Development - Book Review

The School Food Revolution is a timely book for a world of obesogenic food, a world of the fat poor in rich countries, and the hungry poor in poor countries. Worldwide, malnourishment is a marker of poverty. Readers impatient for the revolution are advised to go directly to Chapter 4 - School Food as Social Justice: The Quality Revolution in Rome. Morgan and Sonnino report that “in Italy the public sector has been actively fighting against the generalized deterioration in the population’s nutritional habits”. They identify in Italy “the first organic school meals system”, “the first organic university canteen” and “an organic hospital menu”. They report Italian legislation that “establishes a direct and explicit link between organic and local food and public sector catering … This national law created a regulatory context that encouraged many municipalities to turn organic”

DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING A PRACTICAL MODEL OF REAL-TIME REDESIGN AND PROBLEM SOLVING FOR FRONTLINE HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS

This research develops and implements a practical model of real-time redesign and problem solving for front line healthcare professionals using systems thinking methodologies. Healthcare quality, safety and service issues have been well-documented and lamented, calling into question the current approaches for addressing these issues. The work environment for healthcare professionals has become overburdened with time pressure, workarounds, waste, and failure to learn from the small events which occur on a frequent basis at the front-line. Desensitization may occur until sentinel events stimulate an organizational reaction. Other industries have developed system engineering methodologies, including the Toyota production system, theory of constraints, six sigma and others, to address manufacturing quality, service and safety issues. Many of these concepts were developed within the context of a linear manufacturing environment, with solutions often derived "off-line" by external experts. Healthcare reality is considered more complex and requires adaptive approaches, suggesting that modifications based on complex adaptive systems theory may be necessary. The development of the model evolved based on key systems thinking principles adapted to meet the needs of the healthcare experience and introduced to front-line healthcare workers using on-line problem solving. This research includes real-time understanding of what is working or not working in the current condition as it occurs, the ideas of the staff to improve the patient experience, including asset-based problem-solving and introduction of system thinking and design principles using ideas from various systems engineering methodologies in a healthcare worker friendly way. The research focuses on the deep systems of the organization (or clinical microsystem) and ability of front line teams to redesign processes in real-time using rapid cycle mini-experiments and the results of the redesign. Using case study and action research design, the research analyzes the experiences of an intact work group of a clinical microsystem to test the implementation of a model, labeled an Excellence Makeover. The researcher acts as a participant-observer of the emergent experience and solutions from the staff. The model will then be analyzed and additional refinements will be suggested for additional research

Lifestyling Asia? Shaping modernity and selfhood on life advice programming

This article discusses the early findings of a research project examining the role of lifestyle television in Asia. Life-advice programming in East Asia includes a range of 'popular factual' formats from cooking and health shows to makeover and consumer advice shows. A growing body of AngloAmerican scholarship emphasizes the cultural importance of lifestyle programming, suggesting that the explosion of lifestyle formats at this particular cultural-historical moment connects to broader transformations in western neoliberal states, especially the rise of individualized, consumer-based models of identity and citizenship. Focusing on Singapore, China and Taiwan, this article offers a discussion of the potential of such arguments in these contexts, in light of our findings about the forms of life-advice programming prevalent in these three television industries. In particular, it explores the relevance (or not) of Anglo-American theories of neoliberal selfhood in these sites as read through the lens of lifestyle television

Extreme Makeover: Country Edition

This capstone unit in an AP Macroeconomics course pushes students to critically apply the economic skills gained from the semester into practice. As representatives of an NGO, students create a proposal for the World Bank that demonstrates why their development project will stimulate economic growth in their assigned region of the world; ultimately, students will strive to convince the members to subsidize the implementation of this specific project. In the four-week unit, students will discover the strategies of economic development. First, they will be exposed to shocking statistics and economic indicators that reveal the gravity of poverty worldwide. These numbers will help explain the pivotal role the developed world has in uniting to combat against global hunger. Next, economic case studies will teach them how investments in human and/or physical capital facilitate economic development. As they analyze the societal, economical, and political benefits of specific projects aimed at improving healthcare, education, agricultural production, infrastructure, and the environment, they will see the purpose of non-governmental agencies. Ultimately, the readings, investigations, country case studies, and structured discussions will equip the students with the skills to address the barriers that hinder economic development in the developing world. In effect, students will see their roles as Global Leaders to advocate for global cooperation in the upcoming generation

Extreme Makeover: How We Decreased Our Collection by 40% and Simultaneously Increased It by 50% in 10 Months

The Brennan Library at Lasell College had not conducted a systematic weeding in over 20 years. With space in demand and an increase in online courses, desperate times called for drastic measures. Over a 10-month period, the library withdrew 40% of its tangible collections. Simultaneously, the staff’s focus shifted to promoting e-resources and adopting the EBSCO EDS discovery layer. Using a weighted collection development allocation formula, the librarians overhauled the materials budget and designed a departmental liaison program. After calculating the holdings of new e-book and streaming video packages, the library’s collection increased by 50% despite the massive deaccessioning. This paper describes how a small academic library with limited funds and staffing made major changes leading to positive perceptions and avoiding imposing threats. The Brennan Library added seating, zoned areas, and in-demand e-resources for a growing distance-learner population. By changing the collection development emphasis from just-in-case to just-in-time, the library now provides access to more items than ever before. The Brennan Library’s example illustrates that an access over ownership model of acquisitions can give similar libraries improved return on investment and positive improvements for stakeholders, provided that significant changes are communicated in a strategic manner emphasizing benefits for the user community

Spartan Daily, March 3, 2008

Volume 130, Issue 22https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/10448/thumbnail.jp