1,486 research outputs found
Farms, Suburbs, or Retirement Homes? The Transformation of Village Fiji
Fijian villages and village life are at the core of Fijian society and culture. Yet there
has been much recent change in villages as a result of greater commercialization
of land, labor, and agriculture. This paper draws on studies of two villages to
demonstrate the range of economic responses being made by villagers and the
consequences for village society. Attempts to encourage commercial farming on
village land have been severely constrained by land shortage and land tenure practices
that limit the size of landholdings. As alternatives, people are leaving to find
wage work elsewhere, whether on a permanent, medium-term, or daily basis.
Others are returning to the villages to retire after a long period of working in
towns. One consequence is a great variety in household incomes and daily work
patterns. In these circumstances, Fijian villages can be seen as retaining their
form, but often not their communal substance; they are just as much low-cost
suburbs and retirement homes as they are centers for old-style subsistence agriculture.
As these economic and social entities become more diverse and complex, so
too must policies designed to improve the lot of their inhabitants
Decolorization of Reactive Blue 4 Dye by Fenton Process Using Heterogeneous Fe/SBA-15 Catalyst
Remediation of textile wastewater, particularly concerning dyes, has been a longstanding concern. With the rise of more stringent regulations, the study of advanced methods of waste treatment is becoming necessary. The objective of this study was to synthesize and observe the use of a heterogeneous catalyst in a Fenton reaction by doping an SBA-15 catalyst support with iron. The catalyst was successfully synthesized, was easily filterable, exhibited resistance to acidic environments, and showed thermal stability. When used in a Fenton’s Reagent reaction setup, the single trial use of the catalyst achieved a final dye conversion of 86.8% at the optimal conditions of 2 g/L catalyst to volume ratio, 0.15 wt% Fe catalyst, 20 mM of H2O2, and temperature of 30 ⁰C. Reusability was a concern, as iron was observed to be leaching from the catalyst, and suggestions for preventing leaching and enhancing reusability were presented
Examples of Mapping 'The Foot of the Continental Slope' with 'The Surface of Directed Gradient' Algorithm Using NOAA's ET0P05 Data Base
PHYTOSANITARY REGULATION AND AGRICULTURAL FLOWS: TOBACCO INPUTS AND CIGARETTES OUTPUTS
This paper examines the effects of the use of increasingly-popular phytosanitary regulations on production costs, and output and factor trade flows. The case addressed is that of the European regulation of maximum chemical residues in cigarettes manufactured with tobacco containing maleic hydrazide. The paper presents simulations of the effects of tightening the input/output market linkages and on the substitution away from the residue-contaminated U.S. input to residue-free non-U.S. inputs. This induced substitution results in higher costs, lower quantity supplied of the final product, and higher prices for U.S. cigarettes in Europe. Cross-price effects lead to higher quantities of EU cigarettes sold and a corresponding increase in the use of all inputs, including U.S. tobacco. When the U.S. tobacco price is allowed to fall, direct price effects stimulate the EU derived demand for U.S. tobacco. Although the regulation is protectionist in the output market, it leads to increased EU imports of the residue-contaminated input. When the price of U.S. tobacco adjusts, the regulation is actually antiprotective for EU growers. The regulation also indirectly influences production practices of U.S. tobacco growers and leads to lower levels of MH residues on U.S. leaf.Agricultural and Food Policy,
Suverenitet na prodaju? Hvatanje u koštac s marginalnošću u Južnom Pacifiku – primjer otoka Niuea
This paper examines the case of Niue, a small raised atoll with a population of under 1500 that is self-governing in free association with New Zealand. Its marginality in terms of physical and economic isolation, small size and harsh environment is pronounced. However, it has survived with relatively high living standards and a range of livelihood options for its population. The paper assesses Niue’s marginality and analyses its strategies for survival and development, focusing on the manner in which it has negotiated sovereignty.Rad se bavi primjerom otoka Niuea, malenoga izdignutog atola s manje od 1500 stanovnika, koji ima status samouprave u slobodnom savezu s Novim Zelandom. Marginalnost otoka Niuea u obliku fizičke i ekonomske izolacije te veličine i negostoljubivog okoliša vrlo je naglašena. No otok uspijeva održati relativno visok životni standard te ponuditi svom stanovništvu niz raznolikih opcija privređivanja. U radu se analizira marginalnost Niuea te njegova strategija preživljavanja i razvoja, s naglaskom na način na koji je otok dogovorio svoju neovisnost
Developing the Quantitative Histopathology Image Ontology : A case study using the hot spot detection problem
Interoperability across data sets is a key challenge for quantitative histopathological imaging. There is a need for an ontology that can support effective merging of pathological image data with associated clinical and demographic data. To foster organized, cross-disciplinary, information-driven collaborations in the pathological imaging field, we propose to develop an ontology to represent imaging data and methods used in pathological imaging and analysis, and call it Quantitative Histopathological Imaging Ontology – QHIO. We apply QHIO to breast cancer hot-spot detection with the goal of enhancing reliability of detection by promoting the sharing of data between image analysts
Land and differentiation in rural Fiji
Fiji, despite the peculiarities of its indigenous social structure and its land
tenure systems, can be seen to be exhibiting patterns and processes of
socio-economic differentiation that, in some respects, are not unlike those
experienced in rural communities in other parts of the developing world.
Previous explanations of such differentiation pointed to various
dichotomous relations: between traditional and modern, individual and
communal, rural and urban, Fijian and Indian, or capitalist and
proletarian. This study, involving the analysis of survey data on a number
of Fijian communities, questions all these suggested divisions. The
theoretical perspectives adopted to date - modernization or Marxism -
do give some insights into Fijian society but cannot explain the complexity
of social and economic divisions. Instead, it is suggested that
there is no basic pattern of significant socio-economic differentiation
within the Fijian communities studied, though there are major tensions,
conflicts and differences in outlook. Any class divisions that may exist
are predicated externally upon the relations between rural people and
the urban-based entrepreneurs.
Critical in all these relations, and for simmering tensions within rural
society, is land tenure. The case study evidence points not only to severe
pressure on land, and inequalities in land endowment, but also to 'extra
legal' practices being used by landowners and tenants together to circumvent
a cumbersome, inequitable and inflexible official land tenure
system. Land is the key because its availability or otherwise largely
determines the ability of people to engage in commercial agriculture,
their involvement in off-farm labour, and many of their day-to-day
relationships with their neighbours. Differentiation in rural Fiji cannot be
understood without reference to the realities of land and land tenure
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