THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM FOR AGRICULTURAL AND GROCERY PRODUCTS ON THE POLISH MARKET - AN ANALYSIS OF AND PROPOSALS FOR CHANGE INTO THE DIRECTION OF SUSTAINABLE RURAL AND AGRICULTURAL DEYELOPMENT

The process of the modernisation of agriculture while satisfying the conditions of sustainable development should be treated as a dichotomy, as the effect of the action of market mechanisms and the effect of realising set development goals. The aspects of planning rural development have been widely discussed, due to both the demands imposed by the EU when making use of structural funds and the integration of rural areas with local and regional development. This article seeks to answer the ąuestion: what influence do theoretical concepts of agrobusiness have on the understanding of the sustainable development of agriculture and rural areas. The analysis plays particular attention to the following ąuestion: Are there regulatory processes functioning in a market orientated agrobusiness which enable achieving positive environmental effects from the production activities of farms? Such instruments could complement the factors influencing agricultural producers and lead to a higher level of effectiveness of intervention from state and regional government in the field of sustained development of agriculture and rural areas

Horticultural Therapy Program for Individuals with Substance Use Disorder: A Mixed-Method Evaluation

Substance Use Disorder (SUD) is a chronic brain disorder caused by both biological and environmental factors. Although there is no panacea for addiction, holistic adjunctive therapies have been found to improve outcomes for this population. Horticultural Therapy (HT) is one such adjunct therapy that may improve treatment outcomes. Although HT has been found to support holistic healing for many mental and physical ailments, the efficacy of this intervention has not been evaluated in patients with a SUD. The goal of this controlled, mixed-method study is to evaluate whether HT could be an effective component of a holistic SUD treatment program. Volunteers recently admitted to residential treatment will be randomized to receive an adjunctive HT or a control condition (additional housework and group therapy) over a 6-month treatment period. This study will compare the change in addiction severity, sense of empowerment, stress, motivation and ability to complete long-term goals and general wellbeing between participants who received HT condition and the control condition. Qualitative interviews will also be completed to understand the most beneficial components of the HT experience. Findings will be used to determine if HT may become a recommended addition to long-term SUD addiction treatment programs

Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Urban Farming in South African Low-Income Settlements: A Case Study in Durban

Growing urban centres have been attracting ever higher numbers of rural migrants, including small-scale farmers, looking for better opportunities due to the rise of large-scale farming, loss of land and climate change. Consequently, there has been an increase in the number of spontaneous and informal settlements being constructed as cities do not keep up with the planning and infrastructure development for new arrivals. Urban dwellers in informal, unplanned settlements where issues of land tenure and access to services are prevalent have, consequently, been exposed to precarious living conditions with limited access to food and water scarcity. Urban agriculture (UA) strategies have been adopted by those residents to alleviate poverty and food insecurity, and have been seen to perform other functions, such as environmental, social, cultural and developmental. This study explores challenges and opportunities for sustainable urban farming as an integrated environmental management strategy for the upgrading of informal settlements in three case studies in Durban. This paper demonstrates the need for municipalities to support community driven processes to ensure sustainability of UA initiatives and sustained investment for maintenance. Policy makers need to create an enabling environment for academics, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector to co-develop water efficient solutions to manage the food-water nexus and capitalise on localised community structures and groups, such as co-operatives and women groups.</jats:p

The potential of performance targets (imihigo) as drivers of energy planning and extending access to off‐grid energy in rural Rwanda

Rwanda has one of the lowest electrification rates in Sub‐Saharan Africa and ambitious targets of boosting energy access, with an encouraged private sector involvement. However, barriers such as end‐user awareness and participation in policy and business model design prohibit the pace of rural electrification. A case of Rwanda is analyzed, pointing to the potential of the imihigo (performance contracts) framework. Given the adoption of household‐level performance contracts, which can include energy access, it is proposed they could drive local participation among off‐grid communities. Results of a survey with 218 users of Solar Home Systems in North‐Western Rwanda and from five focus groups show that village‐level energy targets impact on the prioritization of energy target setting among households. Including off‐grid energy options in the imihigo booklets distributed to households could influence awareness raising and allow private sector providers to act in a more targeted way, prioritizing areas with most prevalent energy targets. Additionally, community meetings (umuganda) tied to imihigo offer participatory spaces for information and feedback sharing. These will assist in the design of energy planning and business models, which best fit local needs and respond to the challenges faced by the energy poor

Extension of average life expectancy: the role of pharmaceuticals

Čovjekova težnja za dugovječnošću postoji od najranijih dana. Rješenje za dugovječnost oduvijek se tražilo u znanosti, a vjera da se uz pomoć znanosti može produljiti čovjekov život bila je prisutna i kod Gilgameša, Paracelzusa, Decartesa, Bacona… Novi lijekovi (novi molekularni entiteti), produljenju očekivanog trajanja života zasigurno su doprinijeli. Znanstvenici pokušavaju naći rješenje za kronične bolesti i stanja za koje za sada nema jednostavnog rješenja, a koje su uzrok povećane smrtnosti u razvijenim zemljama. Od iznimne je važnosti nastaviti sa istraživanjem otkrića novih lijekova. Novi prostor za istraživanja otvara se u području genetskog inženjeringa. Koliko god su novi lijekovi od neprocjenjive važnosti u liječenju, pa i produljenju prosječno očekivanog trajanja života, činjenica je i da i ekonomski, socijalni, ekološki uvjeti tome daleko doprinose.The quest for immortality, and longevity, has existed through the ages. exists since the early ages of humanity. And that quest was documented in the works of the philosophers and scientists of their respective eras, such as Gilgamesh, Paracelsus, Descartes, Bacon….Science has had a central role in this persuit through history and still, today, is looked to for solutions. The newest field of research, Genetic Engineering, might offer some of our greatest solutions to curing disease. However, even with Science finding answers to these medical questions we can not undermine other causes to extend life span such as social, cultural and enviormental issues

Music Activities in Early and Preschool Age

Glazbene aktivnosti važne su za opći razvoj djeteta. U ovom je radu prikazana relevantnost provedbe glazbenih aktivnosti s djecom rane i predškolske dobi. Kroz aktivnosti poput pjevanja, sviranja, slikanja glazbenih dojmova, slušanja glazbe ili plesa, djeca doživljavaju napredak u svojem emocionalnom, tjelesnom i socijalnom razvoju. Tijekom glazbenih aktivnosti razvija se sluh, ritam, osjećaj za glazbu i osjećaj pripadanja zajednici. Nova znanja o glazbi, navike kulturnog ponašanja, sposobnost uočavanja estetskih svojstava glazbe, sposobnost izražavanja emocija, osjetljivost na tonove, uočavanje, pamćenje i reproduciranje ritma i melodije samo su neke dobrobiti koje djeca dobiju kroz aktivno sudjelovanje u glazbenim aktivnostima. Da bi se osvijestila važnost glazbenih aktivnosti i prikazao stav odgojitelja i studenata prema glazbenom odgoju, provedena je mrežna anketa između sedamdeset i pet odgojitelja i studenata ranog i predškolskog odgoja i obrazovanja u rujnu 2018. godine. Cilj je bilo utvrditi provode li odgojitelji i studenti glazbene aktivnosti u svojem odgojno-obrazovnom radu, smatraju li da su dovoljno kompetentni za osmišljavanje i provedbu glazbenih aktivnosti, smatraju li da se glazbene aktivnosti dovoljno provode u dječjim vrtićima u Hrvatskoj, te misle li da je češća provedba glazbenih aktivnosti nužna i moguća. Anketa je pokazala da svi odgojitelji smatraju da su glazbene aktivnosti važne za razvoj djeteta i da mogu argumentirati svoje mišljenje. Odgovori su pokazali da odgojitelji smatraju da su kompetentni za samostalnu provedbu glazbenih aktivnosti te da ne misle da je potrebno biti profesionalan glazbenik za provedbu glazbenog odgoja u vrtićima. Najčešća glazbena aktivnost koju odgojitelji provode je pjevanje, a najrjeđe provode stvaralačke igre i likovno izražavanje glazbenih dojmova. Nadalje, odgojitelji vjeruju da bi se glazbene aktivnosti mogle i trebale češe provoditi u vrtićima te da je glavna motivacija za provedbu istih osviještenost odgojitelja o dobrobitima glazbenih aktivnosti. Naposljetku, odgojitelji i studenti smatraju da je glavni razlog rijetke provedbe glazbenog odgoja nedovoljna volja za provedbom glazbenih aktivnosti.The music activities are important for the general development of a child. This thesis gives an overview of the relevance of conducting music activities with the children of early and preschool age. Activities such as singing, playing instruments, painting impressions on music, listening to music or dancing improve their emotional, physical and social development. During these activities, the children develop their music skills, rhythm, sensibility to music and the sense of belonging to the community. New music skills, cultural habits, the ability to perceive aesthetical properties of the music, the ability to express emotions, tonal sensibility, perception, memory and preproduction of rhythm and melody, are some of the benefits of the active participation in the aforementioned activities. In order to raise awareness of the importance of the music activities and to present the opinions and attitudes of preschool teachers and early and preschool education students, a survey was conducted in September 2018. Its aim was to determine whether the teachers and students include music activities in their educational work, whether they think they have adequate competences to create and perform such activities, whether they think these activities are adequately present in the preschool institutions in Croatia, and whether they think that frequent conducting of such activities is necessary and possible. The survey showed that all of the preschool teachers think that the music activities are important for the child development and that they can support their opinion with valid arguments. Also, the think they are competent enough to conduct these activities, and that being a professional musician is not requirement for the music education in preschool. The most frequent music activity in preschool is singing, and less frequent are creative activities, and expressing musical impressions with art. Furthermore, the preschool teachers believe that music activities could and should be more frequent and that the main motivation for that should be the awareness of its benefits. Finally, the teachers and students believe that the main reason for less frequent application of music education is the lack of will to conduct music activities

Music Activities in Early and Preschool Age

Glazbene aktivnosti važne su za opći razvoj djeteta. U ovom je radu prikazana relevantnost provedbe glazbenih aktivnosti s djecom rane i predškolske dobi. Kroz aktivnosti poput pjevanja, sviranja, slikanja glazbenih dojmova, slušanja glazbe ili plesa, djeca doživljavaju napredak u svojem emocionalnom, tjelesnom i socijalnom razvoju. Tijekom glazbenih aktivnosti razvija se sluh, ritam, osjećaj za glazbu i osjećaj pripadanja zajednici. Nova znanja o glazbi, navike kulturnog ponašanja, sposobnost uočavanja estetskih svojstava glazbe, sposobnost izražavanja emocija, osjetljivost na tonove, uočavanje, pamćenje i reproduciranje ritma i melodije samo su neke dobrobiti koje djeca dobiju kroz aktivno sudjelovanje u glazbenim aktivnostima. Da bi se osvijestila važnost glazbenih aktivnosti i prikazao stav odgojitelja i studenata prema glazbenom odgoju, provedena je mrežna anketa između sedamdeset i pet odgojitelja i studenata ranog i predškolskog odgoja i obrazovanja u rujnu 2018. godine. Cilj je bilo utvrditi provode li odgojitelji i studenti glazbene aktivnosti u svojem odgojno-obrazovnom radu, smatraju li da su dovoljno kompetentni za osmišljavanje i provedbu glazbenih aktivnosti, smatraju li da se glazbene aktivnosti dovoljno provode u dječjim vrtićima u Hrvatskoj, te misle li da je češća provedba glazbenih aktivnosti nužna i moguća. Anketa je pokazala da svi odgojitelji smatraju da su glazbene aktivnosti važne za razvoj djeteta i da mogu argumentirati svoje mišljenje. Odgovori su pokazali da odgojitelji smatraju da su kompetentni za samostalnu provedbu glazbenih aktivnosti te da ne misle da je potrebno biti profesionalan glazbenik za provedbu glazbenog odgoja u vrtićima. Najčešća glazbena aktivnost koju odgojitelji provode je pjevanje, a najrjeđe provode stvaralačke igre i likovno izražavanje glazbenih dojmova. Nadalje, odgojitelji vjeruju da bi se glazbene aktivnosti mogle i trebale češe provoditi u vrtićima te da je glavna motivacija za provedbu istih osviještenost odgojitelja o dobrobitima glazbenih aktivnosti. Naposljetku, odgojitelji i studenti smatraju da je glavni razlog rijetke provedbe glazbenog odgoja nedovoljna volja za provedbom glazbenih aktivnosti.The music activities are important for the general development of a child. This thesis gives an overview of the relevance of conducting music activities with the children of early and preschool age. Activities such as singing, playing instruments, painting impressions on music, listening to music or dancing improve their emotional, physical and social development. During these activities, the children develop their music skills, rhythm, sensibility to music and the sense of belonging to the community. New music skills, cultural habits, the ability to perceive aesthetical properties of the music, the ability to express emotions, tonal sensibility, perception, memory and preproduction of rhythm and melody, are some of the benefits of the active participation in the aforementioned activities. In order to raise awareness of the importance of the music activities and to present the opinions and attitudes of preschool teachers and early and preschool education students, a survey was conducted in September 2018. Its aim was to determine whether the teachers and students include music activities in their educational work, whether they think they have adequate competences to create and perform such activities, whether they think these activities are adequately present in the preschool institutions in Croatia, and whether they think that frequent conducting of such activities is necessary and possible. The survey showed that all of the preschool teachers think that the music activities are important for the child development and that they can support their opinion with valid arguments. Also, the think they are competent enough to conduct these activities, and that being a professional musician is not requirement for the music education in preschool. The most frequent music activity in preschool is singing, and less frequent are creative activities, and expressing musical impressions with art. Furthermore, the preschool teachers believe that music activities could and should be more frequent and that the main motivation for that should be the awareness of its benefits. Finally, the teachers and students believe that the main reason for less frequent application of music education is the lack of will to conduct music activities

Comparing adoption determinants of solar home systems, LPG and electric cooking for holistic energy services in Sub-Saharan Africa

Globally, rates of electrification and clean cooking are low, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Off-grid energy solutions have a vital role to play in accelerating clean energy access to address Sustainable Development Goal 7. For organisations aiming to provide both electricity and cooking services, there is a need for holistic studies on adoption determinants to aid market expansion. This paper presents a comprehensive literature review of the adoption determinants and barriers for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), solar home systems (SHS) and electric cooking (e-cooking) in Sub-Saharan Africa. A total of 40 adoption determinants were identified across the 71 publications examined. Of these, 30 determinants were shared by at least two of the technologies, whilst six were specifically linked to LPG and four to SHS. Key determinants that cut across technologies included reliability of alternative technologies (such as grid supply), reliable energy supply through the technology in question, affordability, household size and location (urban/rural). The findings show that there is an overlap in the demographics that use these technologies, as urban households often use SHS as a backup to the electricity grid and their cooking needs can feasibly be met by LPG or e-cooking devices. There is a clear opportunity for e-cooking devices to be sold as appliances for SHS. E-cooking devices such as electric pressure cookers can be complementary to LPG due to their suitability for cooking different foods. Pay-as-you-go models, which have a proven track record with improving access to SHS and are beginning to also be applied to LPG, have the potential to provide a strong foundation for scaling up of LPG and e-cooking services