Arabian adventures

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the world’s most rapidly urbanising countries. Despite the recent downturn in the economy, the region continues to undergo rapid development, particularly around Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Consequently the country is host to many major civil engineering projects including the world’s tallest building, artificial offshore islands, new international airports, metro systems and high-speed rail networks

Perchloroethylene

Presented for World Environmental Health Day, September 26, 2016 in Greenville, North Carolina

Agrarian structure in Poland : the myth of large-farm superiority

In Poland, present policies are aimed at promoting large, mechanized farms over smaller family farms. These policies are based on the perception that large farms offer real economies of scale. But international evidence indicates that such large, mechanized farms are generally less efficient and use less labor than small family farms. The authors analyzed the relationship between farm size and efficiency in Polish agriculture. They used two different methods to do so. First they determined differences in total factor productivity between small and large farms. They then used Data Envelope Analysis to estimate scale efficiencies. The results show that, for the sample of farms analyzed: 1) large farms are not more efficient than smaller farms; and 2) smaller farms are more labor-intensive than larger farms. These results have important policy implications for farm restructuring in Poland and other transition economies facing similar issues and conditions.Environmental Economics&Policies,Crops&Crop Management Systems,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Banks&Banking Reform,Economic Theory&Research,Banks&Banking Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Crops&Crop Management Systems,Livestock&Animal Husbandry

INNER BLUEGRASS AGRICULTURE: AN AGROECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE, 1850-1880

This study examines agriculture in the Inner Bluegrass Region of Central Kentucky from 1850 to 1880. It utilizes an agroecological perspective, which interprets agriculture through the lens of ecology, to highlight the complex natural and cultural factors that combined to form one of the nation\u27s most prosperous agricultural systems during the nineteenth century. Chapter One explores the agroecosytem Bluegrass farmers created and maintained, emphasizing dynamics in crop and livestock diversity and agricultural technology. Chapter Two examines the African-American labor force that played a key role in shaping the system, first as slaves and later as free men and women. Chapter Three addresses the cultural outlooks and institutions that influenced land use patterns, ranging from beliefs on proper methods of cultivation to voluntary organizations designed to facilitate market access. Through an examination of the various influences at work on the agricultural environment, the landscape emerges as a dynamic factor, rather than a passive backdrop, in Inner Bluegrass history