Technological appropriateness of biomass production in rural settings:Addressing water hyacinths (E. crassipes) problem in Lake Tondano, Indonesia

Climate change has induced an excessive growth of water hyacinths, which produces unintended consequences for the surrounding ecosystem. Particularly, water hyacinth is a major problem throughout the world's tropical zone, which largely consists of rural regions. One way to address the water hyacinths problem is to convert them into biomass. However, typical biomass production technologies have not considered local settings when they are installed in rural areas lacking knowledge and resources. This study aims at assessing the technological appropriateness of biomass production from water hyacinths in rural settings under limited resources and knowledge. This research proposes two scenarios (i.e., high-tech and low-tech) to utilise water hyacinths from Lake Tondano, Indonesia, as the case study. The scenarios consider local settings of communities living around the lake by applying scenario-based design science according to Weiringa's adaptation of the five-stage regulative cycle of Van Strien. The assessment stage employs three levels of technological appropriateness (techno-economic, environmental, social) to assess each scenario for the rural context. Results show that the low-tech design is more appropriate for rural settings around Lake Tondano. Both designs are technically able to resolve the water hyacinths problem; however, the low-tech design is more practical for local communities, addressing the environmental problem while simultaneously boosting socioeconomic developments. In general, the small-scale nature of the more appropriate design applies to other rural areas, with which those areas can utilise various biomass sources while benefitting their socioeconomic situations. Further studies need to assess the technological appropriateness of the appropriate design again based on rural contexts in their location(s)

To migrate or not to migrate: Internet use and migration intention among rural youth in developing countries (case of Malang, Indonesia)

In developing countries, the emigration of rural youth remains a persistent phenomenon, attracting research on the rural mobility of the younger generations. Meanwhile, today's digital era allows the Internet to induce information accessibility. Rural youth covers the largest share of Internet users among the rural population, implying higher possibilities for them to use the Internet for various migration-related purposes. However, literature to date has not focused on Internet use among rural youth in developing countries in conjunction with the build-up process of their migration intention. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the impact of Internet use on the build-up process of migration intention among rural youth in developing countries. This research employs four statistical analyses (Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, Kendall's Tau, and stepwise regression) to examine socio-demographic profiles, common/specific Internet uses, other information gatherings, and migration intention in Tambakasri Village, Malang, Indonesia. The results indicate that Internet use enables rural youth to overcome remoteness by connecting to the outside world. Although common Internet uses appear to affect the build-up process of migration intention among rural youth negatively, specific Internet uses show positive impacts. Despite the opposite trends, the adverse effects are insignificant to the positive impacts. Therefore, Internet use maintains a generally positive impact on the intention to migrate. However, they favor the Internet less to search for migration-related information due to low network quality and the activities of active migrants. They rely heavily on migration-specialized companies as their primary source of migration-related information. In general, rural youth have not utilized the Internet's full potential, suggesting a more vigorous promotion of digital literacy for rural areas in less developing countries. It should induce the awareness of rural youth on opportunities in their villages, encouraging them to develop their rural origins and promoting a better-managed flow of workforce

A statistical model of land use/cover change integrating logistic and linear models: An application to agricultural abandonment

Several land use/cover change (LUCC) models have been developed to simulate future LUCC. However, current models work with the assumption that the input non-spatial variables are significant to the LUCC in hand and there is still a lack of model that could identify which non-spatial variables are significant drivers of LUCC. This paper presents a statistical model of LUCC that integrates a logistic model based on spatial drivers and a linear model based on non-spatial drivers. The logistic model produces a probability map that represents local probabilities of LUCC while the linear model produces a global probability threshold that represents a global probability of LUCC, and by comparing the two variables, LUCC is mapped. The statistical model was utilized to model agricultural abandonment in the Ifugao rice terraces, Philippines. Statistical modeling identified the significant spatial and non-spatial drivers of agricultural abandonment in the terraces. Accuracy assessment showed that simulated maps achieved accuracies suitable for LUCC simulation, demonstrating that the statistical model can be a potential tool for prediction of future LUCC

A statistical model of land use/cover change integrating logistic and linear models: An application to agricultural abandonment

Several land use/cover change (LUCC) models have been developed to simulate future LUCC. However, current models work with the assumption that the input non-spatial variables are significant to the LUCC in hand and there is still a lack of model that could identify which non-spatial variables are significant drivers of LUCC. This paper presents a statistical model of LUCC that integrates a logistic model based on spatial drivers and a linear model based on non-spatial drivers. The logistic model produces a probability map that represents local probabilities of LUCC while the linear model produces a global probability threshold that represents a global probability of LUCC, and by comparing the two variables, LUCC is mapped. The statistical model was utilized to model agricultural abandonment in the Ifugao rice terraces, Philippines. Statistical modeling identified the significant spatial and non-spatial drivers of agricultural abandonment in the terraces. Accuracy assessment showed that simulated maps achieved accuracies suitable for LUCC simulation, demonstrating that the statistical model can be a potential tool for prediction of future LUCC

To migrate or not to migrate: Internet use and migration intention among rural youth in developing countries (case of Malang, Indonesia)

In developing countries, the emigration of rural youth remains a persistent phenomenon, attracting research on the rural mobility of the younger generations. Meanwhile, today's digital era allows the Internet to induce information accessibility. Rural youth covers the largest share of Internet users among the rural population, implying higher possibilities for them to use the Internet for various migration-related purposes. However, literature to date has not focused on Internet use among rural youth in developing countries in conjunction with the build-up process of their migration intention. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the impact of Internet use on the build-up process of migration intention among rural youth in developing countries. This research employs four statistical analyses (Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, Kendall's Tau, and stepwise regression) to examine socio-demographic profiles, common/specific Internet uses, other information gatherings, and migration intention in Tambakasri Village, Malang, Indonesia. The results indicate that Internet use enables rural youth to overcome remoteness by connecting to the outside world. Although common Internet uses appear to affect the build-up process of migration intention among rural youth negatively, specific Internet uses show positive impacts. Despite the opposite trends, the adverse effects are insignificant to the positive impacts. Therefore, Internet use maintains a generally positive impact on the intention to migrate. However, they favor the Internet less to search for migration-related information due to low network quality and the activities of active migrants. They rely heavily on migration-specialized companies as their primary source of migration-related information. In general, rural youth have not utilized the Internet's full potential, suggesting a more vigorous promotion of digital literacy for rural areas in less developing countries. It should induce the awareness of rural youth on opportunities in their villages, encouraging them to develop their rural origins and promoting a better-managed flow of workforce