Feasibility of Off-Grid Solar Energy Enabling Sustainable Development of Women in Rural Kenya

This paper examines the attempts of the government of Kenya and international development agenda to achieve the objective of providing energy access for all and facilitate empowerment and poverty reduction to the rural areas within the framework of sustainable development goals. Energy has been recognised as the key enabler of economic and social development, however, the efforts to bring energy access to women within rural communities are falling short. The policy tools and economic instruments prescribed to address energy deficiency are not designed according to the local socio-economic conditions, which will be examined through empirical evidence produced from an energy access project in Kenya. In the Last Mile Connectivity Project women are integrated into the project design in a piecemeal basis. Macroeconomic and structural drivers currently hinder women’s development in rural areas and prevent long-term access to economic opportunities and socio-economic growth, particularly for women suffering from rampant underdevelopment. This allows for the critical exploration of links between gender, energy, and poverty reduction within the international development framework under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals agenda. The remote locations are cumbersome, and the solutions prescribed by the international stakeholders are proving insufficient in the spreading of energy access to women, setting the ambitions of achieving long-term sustainable development at risk. Achieving energy access has positively impacted rural areas, but more should be done to provide sufficient energy to women in rural communities to increase their economic and social development because providing small-scale energy access levels in isolation might not adequately meet these goals. This analysis relies methodologically on a case-study of the Last Mile Connectivity Project in Kenya and on data analysis and interpretation of the overall off-grid solar energy levels in Kenya provided by International Renewable Energy Agency

Host acceptance and larval development of the gall midge Dasineura tetensi (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) on resistant and susceptible black currant

The gall midge Dasineura tetensi is a widespread pest of cultivated black currant. Females oviposit on shoot apices, and larvae form galls on leaves which then fail to expand normally. Genetically based resistance to the midge is known to occur among black currant genotypes. In the present laboratory study, larval performance on a susceptible black currant genotype (cv. "Öjebyn") was compared with that on a resistant (cv. "Storklas") genotype and oviposition preferences were investigated. On the susceptible genotype, infested leaves were consistently galled, and larvae developed successfully. On the resistant genotype, there was considerable variation in larval performance, ranging from no development to successful, but slow, development. This variation in expression of resistance occurred also in the field. Leaves of the resistant genotype that were infested with larvae that grew were not as densely galled as corresponding leaves of the susceptible genotype. Individual females offered the two black currant genotypes in sequence, did not show any tendency to discriminate against the resistant genotype

Insects in burned forests - forest protection and faunal conservation (preliminary results)

The beetle colonization of fire-damaged trees was studied in seven reserves, which were established in burned forests in south and central Sweden, following extensive forest fires in the summer of 1992. In the spring of 1993, burned pine trees displayed a large range in fire damage from virtually undamaged ones to trees killed by the fire. Spruces were more sensitive than pine, and few fire-damaged spruces had some green foliage left. The pine shoot beetle, Tomicus piniperda (Linnaeus) was the main colonizer of pine trees, occurring at all sites, but altogether in only one-third of the trees. On spruce, two bark beetles were common: Polygraphus poligraphus (Linnaeus) was found on nearly all sites and altogether on half of the trees, followed in abundance by Pityogenes chalcographus (Linnaeus). These common species were accompaniedby an assembly of bark and longhorn beetles, commonly occurring on fresh conifer timber. Most of the beetle species clearly preferred the dead or dying trees. However, the species mentioned above as well as Arhopalus rusticus (Linnaeus) also attacked trees with more than half of the foliage left. Three fire-favoured species were observed: Oxypteris (Melanophila) acuminata (Degeer), Sericoda (Agonum) quadripunctata (Degeer) and Pterostichus quadrifoveolatus (Letzner). Line surveys indicated little bark beetle dispersal from the burned areas into surrounding forests. Further studies are needed as the primary colonization of the burned trees was obviously not completed during this first year after the fire

Substrate specificity among Diptera in decaying bioenergy wood: can they be conserved by the same measures as are currently applied to beetles?

Although threatened by forestry, our knowledge concerning saproxylic insects is strongly biased towards well-known orders, mainly beetles (Coleoptera). The beetles have, therefore, formed the basis on which conservation measures of other groups have been formulated. Despite being more species-rich, the Diptera have been rather neglected. Moreover, our limited knowledge of the Diptera suggests that their demands on the dead wood substrate differ markedly from that of coleopterans. We tested if this is true by comparing the substrate requirements of dipteran and coleopteran species by analysing the affinities of species assemblages for logging residues differing in age, size, and tree species. Insects were reared out from the same samples of bioenergy wood from clear-cuts in Sweden. 15 species of Brachyceran flies were compared with 56 species of Coleoptera. We found the average level of specialisation to be similar between the two groups, but the dipterans had (contrary to the expectations) a higher proportion of specialists. Affinities for differently aged wood were similar. More dipterans than beetles were associated with the coarsest wood (diameter 9 cm-15 cm). More dipterans than beetles tended to be associated with aspen (Populus tremula), while Coleoptera tended to be more associated than Diptera with oak (Quercus) and spruce (Picea abies). We conclude that most recommendations for conserving the saproxylic beetle fauna also seem to benefit dipterans, but that the dipterans might be even more sensitive to which qualities of the wood that is preserved. The high conservation value of aspen is already recognised and our results for dipterans strengthen this. The high incidence of many dipteran species in logging residues suggests that many dipterans use sun-exposed environments

Skadegörare på allåkerbär

I detta faktablad behandlas de viktigaste skadegörarna på allåkerbär. Vissa arter behandlas även i andra faktablad, num:r;et anges inom parentes efter respektive art. Odlingen av allåkerbär har kort historia och erfarenheterna av olika skadegörare är därför begränsade. Kraftiga angrepp av skadedjur förekommer dock ofta i äldre odlingar. Särskilt hallonängern kan göra stor skada men även hallonmal och björnbärsvecklare är att räkna med. Svampsjukdomar har däremot hittills haft en ganska liten betydelse

Bladsteklar på krusbär och vinbär

Flera arter av bladsteklar (fam. Tenthredinidae) förekommer som skadedjur på krusbär och vinbär. I detta faktablad behandlas dels några arter som lever på bladen, dels en art (vinbärsstekeln) som lever inuti bären. Bladstekellarver forväxlas ibland med fjärilslarver, men kan kännas igen bl. a. på att de har minst sex par bukfötter (gångvårtor) på undersidan av bakkroppen- fjärilslarver har högst fem par

Skadedjur på svarta vinbär

Detta är en sammanställning över flertalet skadedjur, som kan förekomma på svarta vinbär. Vissa arter behandlas även i andra faktablad. Faktabladsnumret anges inom parentes

”Kaikki perustuu siihen, että opitaan tunteen meidän asukkaat” : TOIMI-menetelmä ja yksilökeskeinen elämänsuunnittelu kehitysvammaisten ihmisten toimijuuden tukemisessa

Tämän opinnäytetyön tutkimustehtävänä oli tutkia kehitysvammaisen ihmisen toimintakykyä kuvaavan TOIMI-menetelmän ja heidän elämää kokonaisvaltaisesti kartoittavan yksilökeskeisen elämänsuunnittelun (YKS) soveltuvuutta kehitysvammaisten ihmisten asumispalveluita tarjoavan Rongankotikeskuksen käyttöön. Tarkoituksena oli selvittää, millaisia kokemuksia asiakkaat ja ohjaajat saivat menetelmien käytöstä ja miten menetelmät tukivat asiakkaan toimijuutta. Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli selvittää voitaisiinko nämä menetelmät ottaa käyttöön Rongankotikeskuksessa. Opinnäytetyö oli toiminnallinen työelämän soveltava tutkimus. Aineisto kerättiin kyselylomakkeella ja haastattelulla. Aluksi kuudesta eri asumisyksiköistä asiakkaat ja heidän ohjaajansa täyttivät kyselylomakkeen, jonka jälkeen he osallistuivat TOIMI- ja YKS-koulutuksiin. Kolmen koulutuspäivän ja itsenäisen työskentelyn jälkeen aineistoa kartutettiin asiakkaiden ja ohjaajien parihaastatteluissa. Haastateltavia oli yhteensä 12 kappaletta. Aineisto analysoitiin aineistolähtöisellä ja teoriaohjaavalla sisällönanalyysillä. Opinnäytetyön tulosten perusteella TOIMI-menetelmä ja yksilökeskeinen elämänsuunnittelu soveltuvat yhteiskäyttöön Rongankotikeskuksen asumispalveluihin, joskaan eivät mutkattomasti. TOIMI-menetelmä sai yksiköissä hyvän vastaanoton, koska sen avulla asiakkaan toimintakyky tehtiin näkyväksi. Ohjaajat kokivat, että TOIMI-menetelmän avulla voitiin ryhtyä tekemään yksilökeskeistä elämänsuunnittelua. Päivittäin tai ympärivuorokautisesti tukea tarvitsevien asukkaiden kohdalla yksilökeskeisen elämänsuunnittelun ongelmana koettiin kommunikointi ja sen myötä ajankäytön rajallisuus. Toisaalta se nähtiin asiakkaiden vahvuuksia ja kykyjä esiin tuovana työtapana. Johtopäätöksenä TOIMI-menetelmä koettiin työkaluna ja yksilökeskeinen elämänsuunnittelu työtapana, jotka tukevat asiakkaan toimijuutta. Kehitysvammaisen ihmisen toimijuus korostuu, kun itsemääräämisoikeutta koskeva laki uudistuu. Menetelmät antavat ohjaajille työvälineitä asiakkaiden toimijuuden tukemiseen.The aim of this study was to clarify how TOIMI method and person-centered planning (PCP) lend themselves to housing services of people with learning disabilities. TOIMI is a method to describe the ability to function for a person with learning disabilities. It was also studied how the TOIMI method and PCP validate the sense of agency of these people. The qualitative framework of this study was functional research. The sample consisted of six persons with learning disabilities and their supervisors. The data were collected using a questionnaire and pair interviews. First the questionnaire was sent to the persons with learning disabilities and their supervisors. Then the TOIMI method and some parts of person-centred planning were applied. Lastly the persons with learning disabilities and their supervisors were interviewed. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. The data were analysed by using data based and theory guided content analysis. According to the results, the TOIMI method and PCP are suitable to the housing services for people with learning disabilities. Regarding the people needing round-the-clock and day-to-day services, PCP was found time-consuming by the supervisors because of communication challenges and limited human resources. The TOIMI method and PCP supported the sense of agency of people with learning disabilities. The law that considers the self-determination of people with disabilities is now prepared in the parliament. In consequence, the meaning of agency increases as people with learning disabilities can themselves be in charge of their own life planning