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Urban Heat and Social Vulnerability: A Mixed Methods Analysis of Planning Decisions and Thermal Inequality in Lahore, Pakistan
Malik, Noor (2024)
This study examines the relationship between urban planning decisions and heat vulnerability in Lahore, Pakistan, focusing on two contrasting areas: the high-density Jail Road district and the peripheral Airport area. Through a mixed-methods approach combining geospatial analysis, temperature monitoring, and ethnographic research conducted between March-August 2023, the study reveals significant temperature differentials (3.2°C ± 0.5°C) between the two areas, strongly correlated with building density (r² = 0.82). The research identifies marked disparities in adaptive capacity, with only 45% of Jail Road residents having access to air conditioning compared to 72% in the Airport area. Analysis of health impacts, energy consumption, and socioeconomic factors demonstrates how urban planning decisions intersect with social vulnerability to create compound heat risks. The findings emphasize the need for heat-sensitive urban planning policies and targeted interventions for vulnerable communities, contributing to broader discussions on climate justice and sustainable urban development in the Global South.
Sample size calculator for declaring a population free of infectious disease (Version 1)
Hanley, Brenda J.; Booth, James G.; Hodel, Florian H.; Thompson, Noelle E.; Bloodgood, Jennifer, C. G.; Dion, Jean-Philippe; Van de Berg, Sarah; Gonzalez-Crespo, Carlos; Huang, Yitong; Wang, Jue; Miller, Landon A.; Hollingshead, Nicholas A.; Peaslee, Jennifer L.; Schuler, Krysten L. (2024)
Scientists can leverage natural biological groupings of free-ranging wildlife to measure the prevalence of an infectious pathogen or disease. Specifically, correlation in disease status among individuals within natural groupings may be leveraged to conduct more efficient disease investigations. Unlike traditional sample size calculators, this calculator considers the natural grouping behavior of wild animals on the landscape and its effects on infectious disease transmission. Side-by-side output plots show potential sample savings afforded when correlation is considered relative to the same population where correlation is ignored. The statistical theory is depicted in Booth et al. (2023). This software contains only simple random sampling (SRS) although Booth et al. (2023) shows additional sampling schemes and remarks that scheme matters in sample size computations. We provide tutorials that show a variety of ways that this software can be used within a simple random sampling paradigm to plan real life wildlife health investigations. Tutorials include various diseases and pathogens in cervid species, mammals, herpetofauna, avians, and aquatic species. Later versions of this software will contain additional sampling schemes.
Demonstrating the value of soil testing to support Australian farmers’ local soil knowledge through a digital tool and action learning
de Bruyn , Lisa Lobry; Guppy, Christopher; Oliver, Ivanah; Birchall, Craig; Warren, Annie; Knox, Oliver (2024)
The level of soil testing required to understand soil change is not widely practiced by Australian farmers; to a large extent, they rely on tacit knowledge. To support farmers’ local understanding of soil performance and improve the value of soil testing, soil scientists and local agronomists engaged in a series of action-learning workshops throughout New South Wales to demonstrate how an online remote sensing tool can be used to strategically soil sample. Once the farmers identified soil testing locations, the researchers conducted soil sampling at those sites in consultation with the farmers. In the follow-up workshop, where soil test results were presented to the farmers, nearly all agreed that the results aligned with their local knowledge of their paddock. However, only half of the farmers said they would use the digital tool in future soil sampling, but they would also consider soil testing more frequently.
Farmers’ competencies for transforming agricultural livelihoods: A competency model approach for designing, implementing, evaluating, and adapting capacity-strengthening initiatives
Gottret, Maria Verónica; Best, Rupert; Page, Sarah; Rosenow, Kristin (2024)
Access to information, capacity strengthening, and on-farm experimentation—key functions of agricultural extension and innovation—are needed for smallholder farmers to restore and protect their land, improve the productivity and resilience of their production systems, engage with markets, and ultimately achieve sustainable livelihoods. This requires deliberate efforts to strengthen smallholder farmers’ competencies for success in smallholder agriculture. A competency model approach to inform the design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and adaptation of capacity strengthening activities provides a practical framework for improving the effectiveness of capacity building strategies and activities. It allows goals and objectives to be explicitly defined and clearly communicated, guides the structure and content of training materials, and frames the assessment of competencies to inform their delivery. This paper summarizes the experience of Catholic Relief Services in using a competency model approach to build Skills for Marketing and Rural Transformation (SMART Skills) in Southern and Eastern Africa and Central America, and in evaluating outcomes and impacts.
On-farm research network ecosystem increased awareness and use of digital agriculture
Balboa, Guillermo; Thompson, Laura; Puntel, Laila (2024)
Digital agriculture (DA) can help meet the 2030 United Nation Sustainable Development Goals. In this study, a survey was deployed to characterize farmers’ knowledge, adoption of DA technologies, barriers to their adoption, and perceived value of DA in the state of Nebraska (Nebraska Farmers) and among the Nebraska On-Farm Research Network (NOFRN) annual meeting attendees (NOFRN). The results were contrasted to understand the impact of NOFRN on DA understanding and adoption. The questions included the definition of DA, technologies adopted, barriers to adoption, and perceived value of DA. The results show that NOFRN attendees have a better understanding of what DA is (more unique words and words to define DA), and a larger proportion identifies and measures DA benefits. Of the 34 DA technology options, NOFRN attendees used 6% more technologies than Nebraska farmers. The NOFRN was shown to be an effective program to increase awareness and adoption of DA technologies for more sustainable farming systems.