Predicting youth participation in urban agriculture in Malaysia: insights from the theory of planned behavior and the functional approach to volunteer motivation

This study examines factors associated with the decision of Malaysian youth to participate in a voluntary urban agriculture program. Urban agriculture has generated significant interest in developing countries to address concerns over food security, growing urbanization and employment. While an abundance of data shows attracting the participation of young people in traditional agriculture has become a challenge for many countries, few empirical studies have been conducted on youth motivation to participate in urban agriculture programs, particularly in non-Western settings. Drawing on the theories of planned behavior and the functional approach to volunteer motivation, we surveyed 890 students from a public university in Malaysia about their intention to join a new urban agriculture program. Hierarchical regression findings indicated that the strongest predictor of participation was students’ attitude toward urban agriculture, followed by subjective norms, career motives and perceived barriers to participation. The findings from this study may provide useful information to the university program planners in Malaysia in identifying mechanisms for future students’ involvement in the program

Interface conditions for fast-reaction fronts in wet porous mineral materials : the case of concrete carbonation

Reaction–diffusion processes, where slow diffusion balances fast reaction, usually exhibit internal loci where the reactions are concentrated. Some modeling and simulation aspects of using kinetic free-boundary conditions to drive fast carbonation reaction fronts into unsaturated porous cement-based materials are discussed. Providing full control on the velocity of the reaction front, such conditions offer a rich description of the coupling between transport, reaction, and change in the shape of the a priori unknown time-dependent regions. New models are formulated and validated by means of numerical simulations and experimental data.cited By 6</p