19366 research outputs found
Sort by
Promoting the adoption of climate-smart agricultural technologies among maize farmers in Ghana: Using digital advisory services
No full textAlthough policy and advisory communities have promoted the use of digital advisory services (DAS) to stimulate technology adoption among smallholder farmers, little is known about whether DAS use encourages farmers to adopt climate-smart agricultural (CSA) technologies. This study addresses the gap by estimating data collected from 3197 maize-producing households in rural Ghana and considering three CSA technologies: row planting, zero tillage, and drought-tolerant seeds. A recursive bivariate probit model is utilized to mitigate selection bias issues. The results show that DAS use significantly increases the probabilities of adopting row planting, zero tillage, and drought-tolerant seeds by 12.4%, 4.2%, and 4.6%, respectively. Maize farmers’ decisions to use DAS are influenced by their age, gender, education, family size, asset value, distance to farm, perceived incidence of pest and disease, perceived drought stress, and membership in farmer-based organizations (FBO). Furthermore, the disaggregated analysis reveals that DAS use has a larger impact on the row planting adoption of female farmers than males
Female-dominated disciplines have lower evaluated research quality and funding success rates, for men and women
No full textWe use data from 30 countries and find that the more women in a discipline, the lower quality the research in that discipline is evaluated to be and the lower the funding success rate is. This affects men and women, and is robust to age, number of research outputs, and bibliometric measures where such data are available. Our work builds on others’ findings that women’s work is valued less, regardless of who performs that work
Studies of bioactive compounds in brown and red onions (skin and flesh) : A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Food Innovation at Lincoln University
No full textOnions (Allium cepa L.) have been cultivated and consumed for thousands of years around the world. The bioactive compounds in onions such as phenolic compounds, are beneficial for the health of humans and can potentially reduce the risk of some diseases, which will lead to longevity of the population. Onion skin is non-edible and is always discarded by consumers and food producers. However, onion waste, mainly consisting of onion skin, is still a rich source of bioactive compounds. Red and brown onion samples in this dissertation were divided into two parts (skin and flesh) and two different extraction methods using two different solvents were tested. Total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) were conducted to assess the bioactivity of onion extracts. The TPC, TFC values were significantly higher in the skin for both kinds of onions (p < 0.05) and 70% ethanol also had a significantly positive effect on the yields of total phenolic compounds and total flavonoids (p < 0.05) compared with reverse osmosis (RO) water. Red onions (both skin and flesh) had higher values than brown onions. Three antioxidant assays (ABTS, DPPH and FRAP assays) were conducted and onion skin also showed higher antioxidant activity than flesh. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) were employed to identify and quantity quercetin in onion skin and flesh. The quercetin content had a similar distribution to TPC and TFC
Female rugby players
No full textFemale rugby performance.
There has been substantial growth in women’s rugby with approximately 2.7 million participants worldwide and a 28% increase in registered players since 2017 (World Rugby, 2018). England, France and New Zealand Rugby Unions have also implemented professional or semi-professional contracts for players in national women’s teams (New Zealand Rugby, 2018; World Rugby, 2018). However, despite the rapid growth in participation and professionalization, there is considerable inequity in the provision of sport science support and research in women’s rugby relative to male rugby players
Reimagining community festivals and events: Critical and interdisciplinary perspectives
No full textThis book celebrates and builds on Alan Clarke (1956–2021) and Allan Jepson’s 2015 book Exploring Community Festivals and Events. It showcases how far the study of community festivals and events has come in the intervening years, and in so doing it is a response to recent calls for researchers to take a more critical approach to event studies.
This is an interdisciplinary book that draws together empirical research across a wide range of community event types, sizes and within diverse communities. Chapters in this book are grouped into four themes that highlight the breadth and depth of work being done: reviving and maintaining tradition(s); a focus on belonging; challenges and tensions; and innovations in teaching and research. Another of its core strengths is its international perspective – the book encompasses research from around the world including Turkey, Portugal, Greece, India, the UK, the US, Austria and New Zealand. There is also a diverse range of theoretical lenses applied to the study of community events, and some innovative methodologies used to achieve research aims and objectives.
This volume will appeal to students and researchers in the fields of critical event studies, cultural studies, place-making, tourism, music, sociology and geography. Several chapters also provide insights and key learnings for those lecturing and working in event management and industry professionals
Feeling and interpreting the changing streetscape: Capturing experiences of urban atmospheres in Cuba Street, Wellington
No full textDrawing on fieldwork in Cuba Street, Wellington (New Zealand), the paper contributes to the emergent body of empirical qualitative studies on urban atmospheres. It explores sensory experiences in a central urban streetscape setting focussing on individual feelings and interpretations of study participants expressed through field descriptions and sketches. The findings reveal a variety of atmospheric accounts and perceptual amalgamations that kept changing while participants walked through particular spatial situations. The study discusses the influence of the built environment, the role of movement, and the notion of ‘dominant’ urban atmospheres. Spatial and architectural arrangements as much as participants’ movement had a significant influence on their feelings and interpretations. The paper identifies ‘atmospheric zones’ that influenced study participants’ moods while walking through them. However, while related descriptions reveal similar atmospheric accounts, not all participants shared the same experiences. Experiential descriptions were diverse, sometimes contradicting, and did not always add up to a conclusive urban atmosphere. Findings challenge the notion of ‘dominant’ urban atmospheres and encourage atmospheric analysis that is inclusive of multiple experiential accounts and based on diverse first-person perspectives
Exploring the design thinking methodology to stimulate alternative approaches in peri-urban landscape planning
No full textPeri-urban areas are vitally important to the function and value of our communities, our environment, and the economy. They often epitomise the relationship between a community and the landscape, providing essential eco-system services for the receiving settlement. With the expansion of cities and the resulting urban sprawl, the ability of peri-urban zones to sustain food provision is threatened in Aotearoa New Zealand. This study reports and reflects on a workshop facilitated by the Centre of Excellence: Designing Future Productive Landscapes, Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki | Lincoln University, with the Canterbury Mayoral Forum, to explore alternative land use topologies for the peri-urban areas of Waitaha | Canterbury region. The focus of this paper is on the application of a ‘design-thinking methodology’, to explore this issue, and the opportunities for engagement and solution ideation that it promoted. Workshop participants were engaged in three activities designed to provoke alternative and innovative thinking about the spatial relationship between urban growth (housing) and agricultural land (production). Key findings illustrate the strengths of the methodology to elicit alternative responses to land use within the peri-urban zone, with results indicating a desire to rethink how we plan and design the edges of cities to better protect and enhance their ability to produce food and support other essential eco-system services alongside urban expansion
Differences in response to a low altitude football training camp supplemented with additional hypoxic training
No full textIntroduction: Living and training at altitude is a popular training method for athletes, however, there is considerable individual variation in subsequent sea-level performance improvement where some athletes adapt successfully, while others do not adapt and fail to improve. Since such training is expensive, time consuming, and normally requires considerable logistical planning, coaches and athletes do not want unsuccessful altitude training experiences. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate possible physiological measures that might recognise athletes that respond positively to altitude training compared to those that do not.
Methods: This longitudinal study included 20 male football players (20.6 ± 1.1 years, 173.9 ± 4.8 cm, 67.7 ± 8.3 kg, mean ± SD) who undertook an 8-week training camp at 825 m above sea-level (Khonsan, Chaiyaphum Province, Thailand). Players were also supplemented with intermittent hypoxic training via a hypoxicator (Altitude Training Systems, Australia) 15 min/day 3 times/week at FIO2 of 0.15 while cycling at an exercise intensity between 100-120 W. Based on the players 2800-m running performances between baseline and 14 days post training camp, players were separated into responders (improved by 10.7 ± 8.1%, mean ± 95% CI, n=14) and non-responders (decreased by 6.1 ± 12.8%, n = 6). Changes in the 2800 m run performance along with other physiological variables (resting heart rate, arterial oxygen saturation, heart rate variability, haematology and blood lactate) from the 3 trials (baseline, 1, and 14 days post training camp) and stand-ard deviations representing the between-and within-subject variability were estimated using a mixed modelling procedure (Proc Mixed) in the Statistical Analysis System (Version 9.3, SAS Institute, Cary, North Carolina, USA). The effect size statistic (ES) was also calculated.
Results: Compared to baseline, the responders had a lower heart rate at 1 (-4.6 ± 2.7 bpm, Effect Size = 1.2) and 14 days (-6.7 ± 3.3 bpm, ES = 1.7) post training camp, whereas the non-responders resting heart rate did not change substantially. Compared to the non-responders, the responders had higher pNN50 at 1 (12.2 ± 11.5, p = 0.04, ES = 1.6) and 14 days (10.1 ± 11.7, p = 0.09, ES = 1.4) post training camp. As a result of the training camp, the responders decreased their LF/HF ratio at day 1 (-1.1 ± 0.6, p < 0.01, ES = 1.0) and day 14 post camp (-0.9 ± 0.6, p < 0.01, ES = 0.8), whereas the non-responders LF/HF ratio moved in the opposite direction (0.8 ± 0.9 and 0.9 ± 0.9), with large effect sizes found between groups (ES = 1.7-1.8). Between-group differences in other variables measured were not substantive.
Conclusion: Reduced resting heart rate and increased cardiac parasympathetic tone was associated with improved run performance after the altitude training camp and may be used to differentiate athletes that respond to altitude training compared to those that do not
Demonstration effect
No full textThe tourism demonstration effect is generally defined as changes to the behavior patterns of the hosts as a consequence of observing tourists. It is an effect that has been accepted as being intuitively correct but with very little empirical evidence to support it. Even today, studies presenting new empirical insights are limited