Decision Modeling: Why farmers Do or Do Not Convert to Organic Farming

This study examines why farmers in Northern New South Wales, Australia do or do not convert to organic farming from conventional farming practices. Organic agriculture provides a production alternative that may be environmentally and nutritionally beneficial. Because the structural settings of economy and society influence decision-making on an individual basis at the farm level, discussions of policy must consider why farmers do, or do not, convert to organic farming. Ultimately, the successfulness of a policy depends on the effectiveness of motivating individual action. A hierarchical decision tree was created using ethnographic decision tree modeling. Elimination criteria, motivational criteria, and constraints to conversion were identified from ethnographic interviews with organic and conventional farmers. These criteria were arranged into a decision tree. A survey consisting of these criteria was administered to a different sample of conventional and organic farmers, and the results were used to evaluate the predictive validity of the decision tree. The decision tree classified 95 participants with 88.42% accuracy; this is above the 80% accuracy threshold for satisfactory models. The greatest benefit of the ethnographic decision modeling method is a rejection of structural determinism. The tree shows that structural factors in and of themselves don’t determine farmer behavior; it’s the constructs of each individual, his or her values and priorities, that shape the decision. Structural factors are mediated by the actor’s perception, and are considered only if perceived to be decisive. This is an optimistic and exciting finding for proponents of organic farming. Many structural factors are impossible to change, but personal constructs are open to revision; the organic farming movement must not move mountains, only minds

The game jam movement:disruption, performance and artwork

This paper explores the current conventions and intentions of the game jam - contemporary events that encourage the rapid, collaborative creation of game design prototypes. Game jams are often renowned for their capacity to encourage creativity and the development of alternative, innovative game designs. However, there is a growing necessity for game jams to continue to challenge traditional development practices through evolving new formats and perspectives to maintain the game jam as a disruptive, refreshing aspect of game development culture. As in other creative jam style events, a game jam is not only a process but also, an outcome. Through a discussion of the literature this paper establishes a theoretical basis with which to analyse game jams as disruptive, performative processes that result in original creative artefacts. In support of this, case study analysis of Development Cultures: a series of workshops that centred on innovation and new forms of practice through play, chance, and experimentation, is presented. The findings indicate that game jams can be considered as processes that inspire creativity within a community and that the resulting performances can be considered as a form of creative artefact, thus parallels can be drawn between game jams and performative and interactive art

Taking the High Line: Elevated Parks, Evolving Neighborhoods, and the Ever Changing Relationship between Urban and Nature

“If you were actually able to make a park on the High Line, it would be great for property values. But this will never happen; it is just too far-fetched. These people are dreamers.” (A local property owner at a Community hearing, April 2001 David and Hammond 2011 p. 31) Everyone talks about it and everyone wants one; The High Line in New York City started a worldwide trend of elevated parks. Old and unused rail lines are transformed into exciting urban environments. New York’s Mayor Bloomberg has noted that the project has ushered in a renaissance for the area impacting the real estate values and development in the surrounding vicinity. This was one of the main arguments for the realization of the project and even though there’s been strong community support for the project, voices have been raised on how this change is affecting the neighborhood. The aim of this paper is to critically discuss the evolving trend of elevated parks and especially the High Line project, by investigating what reactions and debates it has triggered. Highly acclaimed as an expression of Landscape Urbanism, it focuses on the reuse of abandoned infrastructure and active landscapes. The project has been a success, seeing millions of visitors since its opening, but the neighborhoods around it have undergone changes. Gentrification raises alarms as projects like these have a dual function in both increasing property values (as intended by supporters), and causing friction with those negatively impacted by those forces. The High Line story is one of an evolving view on urban planning and design; a product of a constantly changing view on parks and public places. Robert Hammond, one of the activists behind the creation of the High Line commented that: “Central Park was meant to be an escape (…) On the High Line, you’re in nature, but you can hear the traffic, you can see the Empire State Building” (Jacobs, 2012), highlighting the interrelationship between the ‘urban’ and nature

Relationship between objective measures of physical activity and weather: a longitudinal study

BACKGROUND: The weather may be a barrier to physical activity but objective assessment of this hypothesis is lacking. Therefore we evaluated the effect of temperature, rain or snow, and wind speed on the daily physical activity of adults. METHODS: This report contains data from 25 males (BMI (mean ± SD): 28.7 ± 3.83 kg/m(2)) and 177 females (BMI: 29.2 ± 5.92 kg/m(2)) enrolled in an intervention to increase physical activity. Steps/day of the participants was measured by pedometer. Weather data were obtained from Environment Canada. A total of 8,125 observations were included in a mixed linear model analysis. RESULTS: Significant weather related variables (at the 5% level) impacting steps/day included: seasonal effects related to the interaction between weekday and month; mean temperature, total rainfall, interactions between gender, BMI and total snow, interactions between maximum wind speed and BMI, and the amount of snow on the ground. The estimated magnitudes for the various effects were modest, ranging from ~1% to ~20%. Thus for an average individual taking ~10,000 steps/day, weather-dependent changes in physical activity could reach 2,000 steps/day. CONCLUSION: We conclude that weather had modest effects on physical activity of participants in an intervention to increase their activity. It should be stressed that these effects may be different for less or more motivated people. With this in mind, we suggest that the effect of weather on physical activity in the general population needs to be objectively assessed to better understand the barrier it poses, especially as it relates to outdoor recreation or work activities

When the going gets tough: the “Why” of goal striving matters

No prior research has examined how motivation for goal striving influences persistence in the face of increasing goal difficulty. This research examined the role of self-reported (Study 1) and primed (Study 2) autonomous and controlled motives in predicting objectively-assessed persistence during the pursuit of an increasingly difficult goal.\ud \ud In Study 1, 100 British athletes (64 males; Mage = 19.89 years, SDage = 2.43) pursued a goal of increasing difficulty on a cycle-ergometer. In Study 2, 90 British athletes (43 males; Mage = 19.63 years, SDage = 1.14) engaged in the same task, but their motivation was primed by asking them to observe a video of an actor describing her/his involvement in an unrelated study.\ud \ud In Study 1 self-reported autonomous goal motives predicted goal persistence via challenge appraisals and task-based coping. In contrast, controlled goal motives predicted threat appraisals and disengagement coping which, in turn, was a negative predictor of persistence. In Study 2 primed autonomous (compared to controlled) goal motives predicted greater persistence, positive affect, and future interest for task engagement.\ud \ud The findings underscore the importance of autonomous motivation for behavioral investment in the face of increased goal difficulty

SN 2016iet: The Pulsational or Pair Instability Explosion of a Low Metallicity Massive CO Core Embedded in a Dense Hydrogen-Poor Circumstellar Medium

We present optical photometry and spectroscopy of SN 2016iet, an unprecedented Type I supernova (SN) at $z=0.0676$ with no obvious analog in the existing literature. The peculiar light curve has two roughly equal brightness peaks ($\approx -19$ mag) separated by 100 days, and a subsequent slow decline by 5 mag in 650 rest-frame days. The spectra are dominated by emission lines of calcium and oxygen, with a width of only $3400$ km s$^{-1}$, superposed on a strong blue continuum in the first year, and with a large ratio of $L_{\rm [Ca\,II]}/L_{\rm [O\,I]}\approx 4$ at late times. There is no clear evidence for hydrogen or helium associated with the SN at any phase. We model the light curves with several potential energy sources: radioactive decay, central engine, and circumstellar medium (CSM) interaction. Regardless of the model, the inferred progenitor mass near the end of its life (i.e., CO core mass) is $\gtrsim 55$ M$_\odot$ and up to $120$ M$_\odot$, placing the event in the regime of pulsational pair instability supernovae (PPISNe) or pair instability supernovae (PISNe). The models of CSM interaction provide the most consistent explanation for the light curves and spectra, and require a CSM mass of $\approx 35$ M$_\odot$ ejected in the final decade before explosion. We further find that SN 2016iet is located at an unusually large offset ($16.5$ kpc) from its low metallicity dwarf host galaxy ($Z\approx 0.1$ Z$_\odot$, $M\approx 10^{8.5}$ M$_\odot$), supporting the PPISN/PISN interpretation. In the final spectrum, we detect narrow H$\alpha$ emission at the SN location, likely due to a dim underlying galaxy host or an H II region. Despite the overall consistency of the SN and its unusual environment with PPISNe and PISNe, we find that the inferred properties of SN\,2016iet challenge existing models of such events.Comment: 26 Pages, 17 Figures, Submitted to Ap

Quantification of walking-based physical activity and sedentary time in individuals with Rett syndrome

Aim: To quantify, in individuals with Rett syndrome with the capacity to walk, walking-based activity and sedentary time, and to analyse the influences of age, walking ability, scoliosis, and the severity of epilepsy. Method: Sixty-four participants with a mean age of 17 years and 7 months (standard deviation [SD] 9y) were recruited from the Australian Rett Syndrome Database for this cross-sectional study. Each participant wore a StepWatch Activity Monitor for at least 4 days. Linear regression models were used to assess relationships between daily step count and the proportion of waking hours spent in sedentary time with the covariates of age group, walking ability, presence of scoliosis, and frequency of seizures. Results: On average, 62% (SD 19%) of waking hours were sedentary and 20% (SD 8%) was at cadences lower than or equal to 20 steps in a minute. The median daily steps count was 5093 (interquartile range 2026-8602). Compared with females younger than 13 years of age and accounting for the effects of covariates, adults took fewer steps, and both adolescents and adults had more sedentary time. Interpretation: Adolescents and adults led the least active lives and would appear to be in particular need of interventions aiming to optimize slow walking-based physical activity and reduce sedentary time