Landscape architecture student choice: Profession or provider?

Secondary school students face many choices about tertiary education. Some will have a career path in mind and choose to attend an institution that offers a relevant programme, while others will choose a programme offered by an institution that has been selected for other reasons. This paper investigates whether students enrolled in one of the three accredited landscape architecture programmes in New Zealand first chose their career rather than first selected an institution. It also reports on the factors that influenced these choices. Ninety-seven first-year landscape architecture students were invited to complete a self-administered questionnaire. Seventy-five per cent chose a career in landscape architecture first, rather than first selecting an institution. In choosing a career, extrinsic motivations were more important than family or institutional influences, but institutional influences were more important than family or extrinsic factors when selecting a provider. The main factors influencing choice have implications for the profession; they also have implications for institutions regarding programme distinctiveness. Many factors play a role in these choices, including selection of subjects at school. Survey respondents reported on their choices of subject at secondary school and the usefulness of those subjects to their landscape architecture programme. A particular combination of secondary school courses may be a useful signal for students to consider landscape architecture as a possible career path

About Us and Not About Us: Theorizing Student Resistance to Learning about Race and Racism from Underrepresented Faculty

Three early-career scholars write across their experiences as underrepresented faculty who teach required diversity courses to future educators in a predominantly white, small, state college. The authors theorize student resistance to course material and to faculty of color teaching about race and racism in a series of tableaus of their classrooms. They examine the ways that students\u27 tactics of avoidance, consuming the Other, and I won\u27t learn from you are simultaneously \u27\u27about us and not about us, unmasking uneven assumptions about the role of diversity courses in teacher preparation programs

The Trend of Climate Variability Effects on Dairy Farming in Masaba North, Nyamira County Kenya

The dairy-climate change dilemma in Kenya cannot be mistaken. However, extensive research into dairy farming and an understanding of the dynamics of climate variability effects is greatly lacking.The study investigated the effects of climate variability on dairy cattle breeds in Masaba North, Kenya. The objective for the study were to determine the trend of climate variability and its effects on dairy farming. During the study two sampling techniques were used; purposive and systematic sampling that captured key informants and household information respectively with a targeted sample size of 100 respondents. Further, the findings obtained were analyzed through Statistical Package of Social Sciences and Excel. Data was presented in tables, graphs and pie charts. The findings showed that temperature had rose by 0.80 C in the past 30 years with anomalies of rainfall across the years indicating variability effect in the area. From the study, 89% of farmers respondent on effect of climate variability to dairy cattle. The integral recommendations were; improve dairy cattle performance through adoption of modern livestock techniques and harnessing immediate farmers’ education to mitigate climate variability effects. Keywords: Dairy farming, Climate change, Climate variability; Temperature, Precipitatio

Systemic slow-release neem formulations: the future of cabbage aphids, Brevicoryne brassicae control

The efficacy and dose-response, residual effect, and effect on the fecundity of neem formulations on cabbage aphid Brevicoryne brassicae applied systemically through root tissues of Brussels sprouts (Brassica oleracea), were studied in the greenhouse. Two formulations were tested; NeemAzal granules containing 7% azadirachtin (AZA), at 75, 150, 225 and 300 mg per kilogram of the substrate and a water-based formulation, NeemAzal-T (1% AZA) at 1, 1.5, 2 and 2.5 ml/kg of substrate. The efficacy of the neem formulations was dose-dependent, with the highest doses of NeemAzal granules and NeemAzal T, (300 mg and 2.5 ml/kg of substrate) respectively, having up to 0% survival of aphids by 14 days after treatment. The manufacturer’s recommended doses, NeemAzal granules at 150 mg and NeemAzal-T at 1 ml/kg of substrate, were used to evaluate the persistence and bioresidual effect of the azadirachtin on cabbage aphid over time. After treatments, plants were infested with one-day-old aphid larvae on the same day (D0), three days (D4) and eight days (D8) after treatment. There was a sharp decrease in persistence with NeemAzal-T when plants were infested 8 days after treatment, and there was no significant difference in the survival of aphids with control plants. However, there were no differences in the survival rate of cabbage aphid larvae if exposed 0, 4 or 8 days after treatment with NeemAzal granules but the survival rate was significantly lower compared to that in the control. The fecundity of aphids decreased significantly after the application of azadirachtin. In conclusion, results show high efficacy of soil-applied NeemAzal against cabbage aphid, with NeemAzal granules, which is a slow-release formulation, giving the longest period of bioactivity hence offering the longest period of protection

Smallholder Farming Households' Make-or-Buy Decisions: Linking Market Access, Production Risks, and Production Diversity to Dietary Diversity

Production risk and market access put pressure on agricultural household production and food consumption decisions. Improving market access and promoting production diversity have been proposed as solutions to better agricultural household nutritional outcomes. Particularly with regards to production diversity, the efficacy of these solutions has been called into question. We show that the effectiveness of increased production diversity translating into improved household nutrition is dependent on levels of market participation and access. To demonstrate these results, this paper develops a non-separable agricultural household model with multiple agricultural goods for consumption and/or production, production risk, and imperfect markets. Households jointly maximize production, consumption, and marketing decisions. The model’s results are tested econometrically using nationally representative data from Tanzania. The paper contributes to a growing empirical literature concerning the relationships between production diversity, market access, and dietary diversity. We show that while on average a household needs to grow ten additional food groups to consume just one more food group, households not participating in markets need to grow just four more food groups to consume one more. This interaction explains why the literature typically finds weak correlations between dietary diversity and production diversity for typical households. The paper also contributes to the theoretical literature surrounding non-separable household models by providing a framework for understanding the role of markets and risk for household dietary diversity by developing. Our model provides economic theory consistent with existing empirical evidence and helps explain why most studies only find a small link between production diversity and dietary diversity

Dietary acrylamide intake by potato crisps consumers : a case of Nairobi County

The levels of acrylamide intake because of potato crisps consumption remains unknown in Kenyan context. This study assessed the exposure to acrylamide because of consumption of potato crisps in Nairobi, Kenya. A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 315 crisps consumers in Nairobi, and consumption patterns were collected using a pre-tested structured 7-day recall questionnaire. A total of 43 branded and 15 unbranded potato crisps samples were purchased in triplicates of 100 g and acrylamide was quantified using a gas chromatograph with a flame ionization detector. Consumption data were combined with the data on acrylamide contents from which dietary acrylamide intake was calculated using a probabilistic approach based on @Risk TopRank 6 risk analysis software for excel. The mean estimated acrylamide intake was 1.57 mu g/kg body weight (BW) per day while the 95th (P95) percentile was 5.1 mu g/kg BW per day, with margins of exposures (MOE) being 197 and 61, respectively. The intake of acrylamide was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in unbranded crisps with a mean value of 2.26 and 95th percentile of 6.54 mu g/kg BW per day, MOE being 137 and 47, respectively. There were extremely lower MOE indicating higher exposure to acrylamide by the consumers mainly because of the higher acrylamide contents in potato crisps, and hence the need for mitigation measures

Investment and Household Bargaining in Small-scale Farming Households - A Lab-in-the-Field Experiment from Rural Tanzania

Agricultural investments often carry labor costs and market risks, and spouses negotiate and bargain to settle their conflicting preferences for risk and differing views on individual labor costs. Using a lab-in-the-field experiment with a real-effort task, we analyze man, woman, and joint decision-making in those investments. Our experiment randomizes the assignment of the investment decision-maker and laborer performing the real-effort task. This randomization allows us to obtain the effects of gender-related and joint decision-making on the amount of labor-intensive investments, allocation of those investments between risky and not risky alternatives within households, and outcomes of those decisions. Our findings show that men prefer to take production and market risks more often than women, investing higher amounts in risky investments. However, those investments' returns are low, as they cannot complete the task in which they have invested. When couples jointly decide, they choose investment amounts in line with man spouse preferences; however, allocate investments between risky and not risky investments in line with woman preferences. We also find that woman spouses who have participated in a gender-related training program take more risks and the joint investment decisions of the couple are closer to woman investment decisions when compared to other couples. Our results are in line with previous studies on the behavioral aspects of agricultural investments and can guide organizations in improving program design to increase agricultural technology and crop adoption. This paper contributes to the scarce literature on behavioral aspects influencing the gender gap in agricultural production and technology adoption

Scale-up supply and utilization of precooked beans for food and nutrition security, incomes and environmental conservation by leveraging on public-private partnerships in Kenya and Uganda

The project aimed at leveraging public-private partnerships to scale up utilization of precooked bean innovations for food and nutrition security, income generation and environmental conservation in a gender equitable manner. The project worked with 20,558 farmers (6,962 men; 9,893 women; and 3,703 youth) adding 1,659 farmers in this phase compared to Phase 1 (18,899). This report provides details of project results including: increasing productivity by 17% with a trading value of CAD$154,667 along with decreased energy demand (such as charcoal and wood burning); and as well, freeing up women’s time constraints. The project was successful even considering pandemic conditions

Capacity building for conservation: problems and potential solutions for sub-Saharan Africa

To successfully achieve their stated conservation goals individuals, communities and organisations need to acquire a diversity of skills, knowledge and information (capacity). Despite current efforts to build and maintain appropriate levels of conservation capacity, it has been recognised that there will need to be a significant scaling-up of these activities in sub-Saharan Africa. This is because of the rapidly growing number and extent of environmental problems in the region. This paper presents a range of socio-economic contexts relevant to four key areas of African conservation capacity building: protected area management, community engagement, effective leadership, and professional e-Learning. Under these core themes, 39 specific recommendations are presented. These were derived from multi-stakeholder workshop discussions at an international conference held in Nairobi (Kenya) in 2015. At the meeting, 185 delegates (practitioners, scientists, community groups and government agencies) represented 105 organisations from 24 African nations and 8 non-African nations. The 39 recommendations constitute five broad types of suggested action: those that recommend (i) the development of new methods, (ii) the provision of capacity building resources e.g. information or data, (iii) the communication of ideas or examples of successful initiatives, (iv) the implementation of new research or gap analyses, (v) the establishment of new structures within and between organisations, and (vi) the development of new partnerships. A number of cross-cutting issues also emerged from the discussions. For example, all four workshops highlighted the need for a greater sense of urgency in developing capacity building activities in response to ongoing and rapid socio-environmental change in the region. Delegates also felt that conservation organisations, responsible agencies and donors need to recognise capacity building as one of the most urgent conservation issues we face. The need to develop novel and cost-efficient capacity building methodologies (and associated evaluation metrics), was also identified as a key issue. However, it was stressed that future of capacity building efforts will be best served by integrating new methods with more established activities. Importantly, given the broad suite of social, cultural and economic contexts found across sub-Saharan Africa, the need to move away from ‘one-size-fits-all’ approaches was strongly recommended in all thematic areas. Lastly, it was recognised that closing the gap between capacity need and capacity provision in the region will only be achieved through multi-partner capacity initiatives and networks.Additional co-authors: Vivian Kosgei, Anthony Kuria, Chris Magero, Maaike Manten, Paul Mugo, Eduard Müller, Julie Mulonga, Leo Niskanen, Josephine Nzilani, Mary Otieno, Nisha Owen, Juliet Owuor, Stuart Paterson, Sébastien Regnaut, Richard Rono, Joseph Ruhiu, Jesse Theuri Njoka, Lucy Waruingi, Brian Waswala Olewe and Emily Wilso