Introducing new technologies for sustainable agricultural development in Mongolia : towards a collaborative and effective extension system

A major goal for Mongolia is to eliminate rural poverty through sustainable rural development. To accomplish this, the agricultural sector must become more profitable and sustainable. Declining crop yields can be addressed by the adoption of new technology. Barriers to introduction of new agricultural technologies were evaluated using an inter-disciplinary perspective. Field research was carried out to understand the factors affecting Mongolian farmers’ decisions to adopt conservation farming practices. A semi-structured survey questionnaire was completed by 42 farmers and 30 extension agents and in-depth interviews were conducted with ten adopter-farmers in Mongolia. The introduction of conservation tillage was used to illustrate a technology transfer system and the challenges it poses. To most of the farmers, the main advantages of this technology were reduced soil erosion, increased cost efficiency, and higher crop yields. The main disadvantages found were high investment costs, unreliable input supply, and a lack of knowledge of the technology. Factors that encourage adoption of new technologies include government financial incentives, reduced labor requirements, and increased production due to better soil and water conservation. A lack of investment capital, required inputs, and relevant knowledge were all identified as barriers for the utilization of such new technologies. In general, early adopters and non-adopters of conservation tillage differed in that the early adopters tended to have more farmland, livestock, and equipment. The field studies in Mongolia were complemented by field research trials in Canada that evaluated new technologies for weed control in conservation tillage systems. One key to the successful adoption of new agriculture technologies is an effective and responsive research and extension system. Currently, for Mongolian farmers and extension agents, international projects are the main source of information with respect to new agricultural technologies. The capacity of local research and extension institutions is fairly limited. It will be important to establish better linkages among 3 researchers, extension agents, farmers, and policy makers through reorganization and strengthening of Mongolia’s “top-down” research and extension system. Meaningful farmer participation must take place at all stages of any technology transfer process. Based on these principles, an interdisciplinary, inclusive, and responsive national agricultural research and extension model is proposed

First steps in optimizing breast screening in Mongolia: Understanding radiologists’ performance in reading mammograms and mammographic breast density

Advanced diagnoses of breast cancer have become a serious public health issue in Mongolia. Whilst mammography has been proven to be an effective screening approach for breast cancer and well established amongst developed countries, such program has not been introduced in Mongolia. In addition in Mongolia, a lack of research around breast cancer continues to exist. The purpose of this thesis is to understand mammographic diagnostic accuracy and mammographic breast density (MD) in Mongolia, both of which are important considerations, which will inform a future national screening program. To address this aim, three studies were conducted; the first two were radiologists’ performance studies in reading mammograms with different levels of difficulty. The mammographic detection of Mongolian radiologists (case sensitivity of 63% and lesion sensitivity of 34%) was substantially lower compared with that of Australian radiologists. The third study investigated the MD features of 1985 Mongolian women using the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data system (BI-RADS) density categories. The majority of women (58%) were found to have low-density categories (category A and B) and significant associations were observed between MD; age (OR = 6.8, 95% CI: 5.5, 8.0), weight (OR = 4.5, 95% CI: 3.4, 6.0) and BMI (OR=13.2, 95% CI: 8.6, 20.0). Findings from this research have demonstrated that mammographic diagnostic accuracy is sub-optimal in Mongolia. Moreover, images with different levels of difficulty did not alter the reading performance of Mongolian radiologists suggesting the need for improving breast cancer detection skills urgently. The output of this work also demonstrated that low density was predominant in Mongolia. The results will impact on health policy around screening in Mongolia. They will inform educational strategies that are needed to transform diagnostic efficacy and will provide a good basis for decision making around screening modality choices

Naturalistic yielding behavior of drivers at an unsignalized intersection based on survival analysis

In recent years, autonomous vehicles have become increasingly popular, leading to extensive research on their safe and efficient operation. Understanding road yielding behavior is crucial for incorporating the appropriate driving behavior into algorithms. This paper focuses on investigating drivers' yielding behavior at unsignalized intersections. We quantified and modelled the speed reduction time for vulnerable road users at a zebra crossing using parametric survival analysis. We then evaluated the impact of speed reduction time in two different interaction scenarios, compared to the baseline condition of no interaction through an accelerated failure time regression model with the log-logistic distribution. The results demonstrate the unique characteristics of each yielding behavior scenario, emphasizing the need to account for these variations in the modelling process of autonomous vehicles

RPB5-Mediating Protein(RMP)の細胞局在と機能パートナー

取得学位 : 博士（医学）, 学位授与番号 : 医博甲第1651号, 学位授与年月日 : 平成16年9月30日, 学位授与大学 : 金沢大

モンゴル国ウランバートル市の持続的廃棄物管理の改善のためのLCAと多基準意思決定分析

In last years, as the lifestyle and socio-economic situation of the citizens is changing, in this regards amount of the municipal waste and type of waste are also increasing in the Ulaanbaatar city. This research analyzed each of the four waste disposal methods, to develop and select the waste management best option. To estimates economic efficiency Life cycle cost analysis methods based on the municipal waste disposal budget data; used tool a Cost-benefit analysis of each scenario explores opportunities to increase waste revenues and reduce annual costs. Also analyzes Life cycle impact assessment for each waste treatment option and includes a Life cycle assessment that considers direct and indirect GHG emissions during landfilling, waste incineration, composting, recycling, or energy consumption from waste treatment in Ulaanbaatar city. This research was conducted based on the Multi criteria decision analysis method for evaluating the performance of each scenario considered hereafter as well as interviews with experts. These interviews were used to identify key ideas related to waste management. These issues have been considered using Technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution analysis to determine the potential impacts of environmental, economic, technical, and social factors, which were analyzed for each waste disposal method to develop and select the best option. As the result, MBT plant has not been advantageous considering all criteria. However, waste incineration is the most cost-effective option in Ulaanbaatar city in terms of saving coal resources and reducing coal production.北九州市立大

RESEARCH ON PLASTIC FOOD CONTAINER SAFETY

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Growing businesses in the desert: Case studies of Australian desert micro, small and medium enterprises

Business enterprises, whether they are large or small, contribute to the growth of desert regions in Australia. This report presents case studies of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the desert. The case studies highlight the different business models that exist in desert areas, the barriers and constraints faced by entrepreneurs and the strategies they adopt to sustain and grow their businesses. The report also delves into what motivates people to start a business, and what drives them to continue on despite the many challenges they face. Regardless of the business structure, MSMEs operating in the desert face common challenges. These challenges and barriers revolve around remoteness, distance from suppliers and markets, small local markets and high freight and transport costs, leading to high business transaction costs. However, the case studies showed that numerous businesses continue to sprout in the desert, many manage to grow, and many thrive – even during times of economic crisis such as in the recent global financial crisis.&nbsp