Digital Urban Agriculture as Disparate Development: The Future of Food in Three U.S. Cities Through the Lens of Stakeholder Perceptions, Networks, and Resource Flows

Urban agriculture takes many forms. Often, the term elicits images of raised beds, hoop houses, and, in those instances where topsoil is both present and non-contaminated, in-ground gardens—what I call traditional urban agriculture (“TUA”). But that imagery is changing, especially in some parts of the country where vacant space is scarce and land prices dear. In those instances, cities are seeing growth in digital urban agriculture (“DUA”). DUA, as defined here, refers to farming within urban and peri-urban areas that incorporates elements of automation, software, and/or silicon-based hardware into their operations. While this definition is not meant to draw a solid line between particular practices, allowing for a clean categorization across these two types, it does help distinguish between those systems that are more labor-intensive/less capital-intensive and those in possession of the opposite characteristics, namely, lower labor requirements but higher levels of capital investments, energy throughputs, etc. Although DUA often takes “vertical” forms, I prefer the modifier “digital” for analytic emphasis, noting that a farm operation’s height is a less significant independent variable than processes related to its silicon-based, data-intense, sunk-capital attributes. Scholarship looking at farming within urban and peri-urban spaces presents a mix of outcomes. On the one hand, examples can be pointed to showing its links to empowerment, food sovereignty, public health, improved educational and vocational outcomes, reductions in crime, and community nutrition. On the other hand, farming in the city has been associated with gentrification, as well as to the amplification of cultural, racial, and class distinctions within a community. The latter have been repeatedly linked to a phenomena known as the “growth machine,” which speaks to initiatives tied to an elite-driven coalition set on maximizing the city’s tax revenues whilst reinforcing the group’s privilege and status. Not surprising, then, in light of these varied outcomes, peoples’ perceptions of agriculture within urban and peri-urban spaces is equally mixed. Many view TUA as a productive, multifunctional use of vacant land in inner cities on the losing end of global macroeconomic structural change and demographic abandonment; this is a dynamic option to the decays associated with global flows. The sticking point, where there is one, tends to be on the temporality of these urban and peri-urban forms. Namely, is urban farming a viable long-term solution or just a temporary fix until something better presents itself? As farmers struggle to gain long-term, secure access to land in many cities, they are facing considerable resistance from many, often situated in influential positions of power. Those in these roles of authority and situated within organizations with access to capital and credit tend to view TUA as a temporary use of vacant land—a placeholder until an investment opportunity arises. A common tension then lies between those who view TUA as an important longterm solution for many inner-city problems and others who might value it in the immediate term but only until large transformational investments can be made upon those vacant pieces of land. I interrogate this tension and what it means for future community dynamics by drawing from eighty-two semi-structured interviews with community partners, investors, local food power brokers (e.g., chefs, politicians, developers), planners, and engineers involved in facilitating farming within their respective cities, which includes both TUA and DUA. Respondents were located in Denver (CO), New York (NY), and San Francisco (CA). I further supplement these data with notes taken during public forums and by analyzing the websites of organizations and business that respondents work for. Not all urban agriculture is equal, as we might guess, in terms of attachments to networks and resources. For instance, while those connected closely to organizations linked to economic development frequently view TUA as a temporary fix to the city’s ills, they alternatively view DUA quite differently, in some cases going so far as to refer to these platforms as the “ideal, long-term best use of currently vacant urban space,” to quote a developer from the below study. Alternatively, those linked with community organizations and with a history of social activism are shown to cast TUA as a long-term fix to many inner-city problems, whereas DUA risks making those problems worse. The Article begins by reviewing the literature as to the costs and benefits of urban agriculture. I then pivot to a discussion of methods where I provide an overview of the sample population as well as a description of the socio-organizational network analyses, which was conducted in parallel with the qualitative, face-to-face interviews. The findings are organized around the themes of perceptions, networks, and resources. I interrogate, in other words, respondents’ views toward various urban farming forms (Theme #1), their respective social networks (Theme #2), and what resources flow through these social groupings (Theme #3). These data paint a picture of a contentious future, as urban economic growth interests are shown to play a central role in urban food politics, perhaps even more so thanks to DUA

Trust and sustainable agriculture: the construction and application of an integrative theory

This dissertation represents a journey into one of the most ubiquitous and complex of all social phenomena: trust. Within this text, a wide terrain of socio-theoretical phenomena is explored, ultimately leading us to an integrative theory of trust grounded within the social relations of everyday life. As I explain, trust is an essential component of all social relations; it is what gives social life life. To trust is to possess attitudes toward what we know that we do not know---attitudes that are present in most (if not all) moments of reflexive consciousness. As such, trust is also intricately tied to relations of power, knowledge, and identity. But this attitude of our knowledge of non-knowledge should not be understood as a unitary phenomena; rather, there are four such attitudes (or, if one prefers, four types of trust): simple trust, confidence, faith, and hope. These four attitudes of trust are distinguishable by varying perceptions of risk and evidence present in a situation, and which constitute the basis of my four-quadrant model of trust. This work is not, however, merely a theoretical exploration, but also a practical one. Consequently, following the theoretical exposition, attention is directed toward an empirical case study of agricultural social change---namely, the social movement of sustainable agriculture. The goal of merging theory and research in this manner is two-fold. First, to help illustrate and corroborate aspects of the preceding theoretical model, but also to gain insight into the driving empirical question. Specifically, the dissertation examines the relationship between landlords and tenants and how that relationship impacts the adoption or non-adoption of sustainable farming practices on rented land. The dissertation concludes by highlighting some possible conceptual implications of the theoretical model of trust on other contemporary theoretical frameworks, potential practical uses for the model itself, and a discussion of policies that could be implemented to promote sustainable agriculture in light of the preceding empirical analysis

Defect chemistry and vacancy concentration of luminescent europium doped ceria nanoparticles by solvothermal method

Pure phase and europium-doped ceria nanocrystals have been synthesized by a single step simple solvothermal process. Different spectroscopic, diffractive, and microscopic techniques were used to determine the morphology, size, crystal structure, and phase of all the samples. Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) for elemental mapping confirmed that good solid solutions were formed and that the particles had a homogeneous distribution of europium. The defect chemistry was more complex than might be expected with the incorporation of each Eu3+ ion resulting in the production of an anion vacancy since the doping results in charge compensating (i.e., for Eu3+) anion vacancies as well as vacancies due to oxygen removal from the crystallite surface. Variations in nanoparticles dimension and lattice parameters were measured as a function of dopant concentrations and their variations explained. The band gap of the samples could be tailored by the doping. The doped samples were found to be luminescent due to the substitution of Ce4+ ions in the cubic symmetric lattice by the dopant ions. The thermal stability of the fluorescence properties was also investigated

One place doesn't fit all: improving the effectiveness of sustainability standards by accounting for place

Includes bibliographical references (pages 8-10).The growing interest in incentivizing sustainable agricultural practices is supported by a large network of voluntary production standards, which aim to offer farmers and ranchers increased value for their product in support of reduced environmental impact. To be effective with producers and consumers alike, these standards must be both credible and broadly recognizable, and thus are typically highly generalizable. However, the environmental impact of agriculture is strongly place-based and varies considerably due to complex biophysical, socio-cultural, and management-based factors, even within a given sector in a particular region. We suggest that this contradiction between the placeless generality of standards and the placed-ness of agriculture renders many sustainability standards ineffective. In this policy and practice review, we examine this contradiction through the lens of beef production, with a focus on an ongoing regional food purchasing effort in Denver, Colorado, USA. We review the idea of place in the context of agricultural sustainability, drawing on life cycle analysis and diverse literature to find that recognition of place-specific circumstances is essential to understanding environmental impact and improving outcomes. We then examine the case of the Good Food Purchasing Program (GFPP), a broad set of food-purchasing standards currently being implemented for institutional purchasing in Denver. The GFPP was created through a lengthy stakeholder-inclusive process for use in Los Angeles, California, USA, and has since been applied to many cities across the country. The difference between Los Angeles' process and that of applying the result of Los Angeles' process to Denver is instructive, and emblematic of the flaws of generalizable sustainability standards themselves. We then describe the essential elements of a place-based approach to agricultural sustainability standards, pointing toward a democratic, process-based, and outcome-oriented strategy that results in standards that enable rather than hinder the creativity of both producers and consumers. Though prescription is anathema to our approach, we close by offering a starting point for the development of standards for beef production in Colorado that respect the work of people in place

Electrophysiological and information processing variability predicts memory decrements associated with normal age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease (AD)

Recent theoretical models of cognitive aging have implicated increased intra-individual variability as a critical marker of decline. The current study examined electrophysiological and information processing variability and memory performance in normal younger and older controls, and older adults with Alzheimer's disease (AD). It was hypothesized that higher levels of variability would be indicative of age-related and disease-related memory deficits. Results indicated both implicit and explicit memory deficits associated with AD. Consistent with previous research, behavioral speed and variability emerged as sensitive to age- and disease-related change. Amplitude variability of P3 event-related potentials was a unique component of electrophysiological activity and accounted for significant variance in reaction time (RT) mean and RT standard deviation, which in turn accounted for significant variance in memory function. Results are discussed in light of theoretical and applied issues in the field of cognitive aging

Size and space controlled hexagonal arrays of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanodots: magnetic studies and application

Highly dense hexagonally arranged iron oxide nanodots array were fabricated using PS-b-PEO self-assembled patterns. The copolymer molecular weight, composition and choice of annealing solvent/s allows dimensional and structural control of the nanopatterns at large scale. A mechanism is proposed to create scaffolds through degradation and/or modification of cylindrical domains. A methodology based on selective metal ion inclusion and subsequent processing was used to create iron oxide nanodots array. The nanodots have uniform size and shape and their placement mimics the original self-assembled nanopatterns. For the first time these precisely defined and size selective systems of ordered nanodots allow careful investigation of magnetic properties in dimensions from 50 nm to 10 nm, which delineate the nanodots are superparamagnetic, well-isolated and size monodispersed. This diameter/spacing controlled iron oxide nanodots systems were demonstrated as a resistant mask over silicon to fabricate densely packed, identical ordered, high aspect ratio silicon nanopillars and nanowire features

Implementation of a rapid learning platform: predicting 2-year survival in laryngeal carcinoma patients in a clinical setting

Background and Purpose To improve quality and personalization of oncology health care, decision aid tools are needed to advise physicians and patients. The aim of this work is to demonstrate the clinical relevance of a survival prediction model as a first step to multi institutional rapid learning and compare this to a clinical trial dataset. Materials and Methods Data extraction and mining tools were used to collect uncurated input parameters from Illawarra Cancer Care Centre\u27s (clinical cohort) oncology information system. Prognosis categories previously established from the Maastricht Radiation Oncology (training cohort) dataset, were applied to the clinical cohort and the radiotherapy only arm of the RTOG-9111 (trial cohort). Results Data mining identified 125 laryngeal carcinoma patients, ending up with 52 patients in the clinical cohort who were eligible to be evaluated by the model to predict 2-year survival and 177 for the trial cohort. The model was able to classify patients and predict survival in the clinical cohort, but for the trial cohort it failed to do so. Conclusions The technical infrastructure and model is able to support the prognosis prediction of laryngeal carcinoma patients in a clinical cohort. The model does not perform well for the highly selective patient population in the trial cohort

Thopaz+ portable digital system for managing chest drains: a NICE medical technology guidance

The Thopaz+ portable digital system was evaluated by the Medical Technologies Advisory Committee (MTAC) of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). The manufacturer, Medela, submitted a case for the adoption of Thopaz+ that was critiqued by Cedar, on behalf of NICE. Due to a lack of clinical evidence submitted by the manufacturer, Cedar carried out its own literature search. Clinical evidence showed that the use of Thopaz+ led to shorter drainage times, a shorter hospital stay, lower rates of chest drain re-insertion and higher patient satisfaction compared to conventional chest drainage when used in patients following pulmonary resection. One comparative study of the use of Thopaz+ in patients with spontaneous pneumothorax was identified and showed shorter drainage times and a shorter length of hospital stay compared to conventional drainage. No economic evidence was submitted by the manufacturer, but a simple decision tree model was included. The model was improved by Cedar and showed a cost saving of £111.33 per patient when Thopaz+ was used instead of conventional chest drainage in patients following pulmonary resection. Cedar also carried out a sub-group analysis of the use of Thopaz+ instead of conventional drainage in patients with pneumothorax where a cost saving of £550.90 was observed. The main cost driver for the model and sub-group analysis was length of stay. The sub-group analysis was based on a single comparative study. However, the MTAC received details of an unpublished audit of Thopaz+ which confirmed its efficacy in treating patients with pneumothorax. Thopaz+ received a positive recommendation in Medical Technologies Guidance 37