1,508 research outputs found
Effect of pruning frequency and pruning height on the biomass production of Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl) A. Gray
No full textAddition of tree or shrub prunings through alley cropping or biomass transfer systems have contributed to sustainable land-use systems in the tropics. Long term productivity of biomass transfer systems require shrub or tree species that coppice after cutting to provide sufficient plant nutrients. The effect of pruning frequency and cutting height on the biomass production of Tithonia diversifolia was studied to provide information for managing hedges. Results showed that height of cutting, pruning frequency, and their interactions significantly affected dry matter production of T. diversifolia. The results also showed that a significantly higher biomass production could be produced when Tithonia was pruned at long time intervals. Pruning height was also of importance in the harvesting of Tithonia biomass and it was evident that dry matter production was highest when Tithonia was pruned bimonthly at 50 cm height. With bi-monthly pruning frequency, dry matter production could be as high as 7. 2 t ha -1 yr -1 which might be a sufficient biomass to improve soil productivity in biomass transfer systems. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V
Writing and the rights of reality: usurpation and potentiality in Derrida, Plato, Nietzsche, and Beckett
No full textThe thesis critically evaluates Jacques Derrida's conferral of the rights of reality on writing, focussing on his theory of an arche-text in light of the speculative nature of this theory. The theory is initially considered in the context of Derrida's elucidation of the usurpatory status of writing within the Platonic and Nietzschean texts. This consideration reveals an admission of writing's usurpatory status by both writers while at the same time demonstrating their awareness of the intrinsically speculative nature of this view, the significance of writing lying in its ability to exteriorise the radically indeterminate status of consciousness m relation to reality rather than its ability to displace consciousness or reality The analyses, therefore, not only bring the Derridean hypothesis of a repressive or phonocentric metaphysical episteme into question but also exhibit the historical and philosophical role of potentiality in relation to writing, writing's ultimate significance lying in its capacity to exteriorise our existence as a mode of potentiality. Accordingly, in the second half of the thesis the Derridean theory of writing is countered with a specifically Aristotelian theory of the text as it is exhibited in the prose of Samuel Beckett, an author whose significance lies in his close alignment with Derridean theory within contemporary criticism. It is demonstrated that this identification has obviated an awareness of the significance of potentiality within the Beckettian text, his work consequently being appraised in the previously neglected context of Aristotelian metaphysics
Samuel Beckett and the Writers of Port-Royal
No full textIt has been observed that ‘the literary influences on Beckett have been far more important than has been acknowledged, and more important indeed, than the philosophical influences’ (Smith 2002: 3). The truth of this statement is evidenced by the description that scholars have given of Samuel Beckett’s relationship to seventeenth century French classicism. To date, critical interest has been limited for the most part to the figure of the philosopher René Descartes on the (fragile) grounds that Beckett was exclusively concerned with the Cartesian imperative of clarity and order, the fundamental dualism between body and mind, and Nominalism.
Together with the assumption that Beckett’s vision was essentially Cartesian, his literary filiation with Pascal was suggested by critics, but only in terms of Beckett’s formal approach to the theatre. In his short article on En attendant Godot in 1953, the playwright Jean Anouilh was among the first reviewers to suggest that Beckett’s drama synthesizes the encounter between ‘classicism’ and a ‘modern’ form of art. It is well known that Beckett retained a lifelong admiration for Pascal – indeed, Pascal was one of his ‘old chestnuts’ (Knowlson 1997: 653). Little attention has been paid, however, to the originality of Pascal’s thought, the specific nature of his prose, and the impact these might have had upon Beckett’s mature work, especially the trilogy and the subsequent short prose. Yet, in the literary and philosophical context of post-war France, Beckett’s filiation with Pascal, their corresponding preoccupations, were evident to his contemporaries, who identified Pascal as an underlying presence in his works
Effect of pruning frequency and pruning height on the biomass production of Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl) A. Gray
No full textAddition of tree or shrub prunings through alley cropping or biomass transfer systems have contributed to sustainable land-use systems in the tropics. Long term productivity of biomass transfer systems require shrub or tree species that coppice after cutting to provide sufficient plant nutrients. The effect of pruning frequency and cutting height on the biomass production of Tithonia diversifolia was studied to provide information for managing hedges. Results showed that height of cutting, pruning frequency, and their interactions significantly affected dry matter production of T. diversifolia. The results also showed that a significantly higher biomass production could be produced when Tithonia was pruned at long time intervals. Pruning height was also of importance in the harvesting of Tithonia biomass and it was evident that dry matter production was highest when Tithonia was pruned bimonthly at 50 cm height. With bi-monthly pruning frequency, dry matter production could be as high as 7. 2 t ha -1 yr -1 which might be a sufficient biomass to improve soil productivity in biomass transfer systems. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V
Usability and acceptability of a website that provides tailored advice on falls prevention activities for older people
No full textThis article presents the usability and acceptability of a website that provides older people with tailored advice to help motivate them to undertake physical activities that prevent falls. Views on the website from interviews with 16 older people and 26 sheltered housing wardens were analysed thematically. The website was well received with only one usability difficulty with the action plan calendar. The older people selected balance training activities out of interest or enjoyment, and appeared to carefully add them into their current routine. The wardens were motivated to promote the website to their residents, particularly those who owned a computer, had balance problems, or were physically active. However, the participants noted that currently a minority of older people use the Internet. Also, some older people underestimated how much activity was enough to improve balance, and others perceived themselves as too old for the activities
The idler [electronic resource] : By the author of The rambler. With additional essays. In two volumes. The sixth edition.
No full textThe author of the Rambler = Samuel Johnson and others.O & L report frontispieceElectronic reproduction.English Short Title Catalog,Reproduction of original from Bodleian Library (Oxford)
Richardson, Barbauld, and the construction of an early modern fan club
No full textMPhilMuch has been written about the life and long works of the eighteenth century epistolary novelist, Samuel Richardson, but the prospect of his position as the first celebrity novelist – responsible for courting his own fame as well as initiating his own fan club – has largely been ignored. The body of manuscripts housed at the National Art Library in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London provides the modern scholar with evidence of the skeletal beginnings of an early fan club. This thesis aims to show how these manuscripts were turned into a saleable commodity by the publisher and entrepreneur Richard Phillips, while under the guiding hand of another, slightly later, literary celebrity, Anna Laetitia Barbauld. In order to restore Richardson’s reputation amongst a new nineteenth century audience, Barbauld was required to construct her own idea of him as an eighteenth century celebrity author, and in doing so the insecurities of a self-professed, apparently diffident man, are revealed. Barbauld’s capacious, but heavily edited selection of letters is analyzed in this thesis, providing ample evidence that Richardson’s correspondents were more than just eager letter writers. By using Barbauld’s biography of Richardson this thesis aims to show how she manipulates the genre of life writing in her construction of him.
This thesis offers an alternative reading of how the Richardson manuscripts are viewed, redefining them as not simply a collection of letters, but as a collective entity, deliberately selected and archived as evidence of an early modern fan club, and its celebrity managing director
Scaling up climate information services through public-private partnership business models
No full textBetween 2011 and 2017, CCAFS West Africa piloted how the dissemination of climate information services (CIS) to farmers in its climate-smart village sites (Lawra and Jirapa) in Ghana could help them avert risks associated with climate change and variability. The pilot was executed with 1000 profiled and geo-referenced farmers (33% women) through a collaboration with a private information and communication technology (ICT) company, Esoko in Ghana and the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet). During the pilot, Esoko delivered processed weather information received from GMet and other sources to farmers using mobile phone platforms. The Esoko platform also allows farmers to access a call center where CIS is delivered to them vocally in their local dialect. The forecast information included the total rainfall, the onset and end of the rainy season, and a 10-day forecast during the rainy season (Partey et al., 2018). In addition to the weather forecast information, farmers receive market alerts and agro-advisories that are intended to help them understand and apply the received information.
A survey conducted in 2017 showed CIS received by farmers enabled them to make mixed strategic decisions on crop variety selection, time of planting, time of applying fertilizer, time of irrigating, time of harvesting etc. which contributed to reducing crop failures and increasing household food availability for both men and women (Partey et al., 2018).
To sustain the delivery of CIS to farmers at the cli-mate-smart village sites and reach others in the country, Esoko adopted a public-private partnership (PPP) business model proposed by CCAFS. The PPP is particularly targeted at farmers subscribing to the "Planting for Food and Jobs" (PFJ) initiative in-troduced by the Government of Ghana as part of its measures to improve food security and employment in the agricultural sector. This document presents the nature of the PPP model and preliminary resul
Organic revolution: cotton and its impact on poverty, inequality and sustainability in Tanzania
No full textWith organic consumption booming, proponents of organic agriculture argue that it presents a viable development alternative for African farmers that were sidestepped by the Green and Biotechnology revolutions. While ecological and human benefits of organic agriculture are better known, scholarship is lacking on the socio-economic impacts of organic export production on certified and non-certified farmers in Africa. Positioning organic agriculture as an innovation, this dissertation addresses critical omissions by asking: What impact does the Organic revolution have on poverty, inequality and sustainability? It draws on and contributes to bodies of literature on Agricultural Development and Inequalities in Africa, Agricultural Sustainability, and Multidimensional Poverty. Based on a survey of 122 organic and conventional cotton farmers in Meatu District, Tanzania, organic agriculture’s potential as a pro-poor development intervention is evaluated. Quantitative analyses were coupled with participatory econometrics, which included focus groups and semi-structured interviews during follow-up visits. Main findings include organic farmers owning on average larger farms and being wealthier compared to their conventional counterparts. Lower levels of human capital were not identified as a barrier towards the diffusion of organic methods, which are traditionally more labor- and knowledge-intensive compared to the capital-intensive nature of previous agricultural revolutions. Lack of access to land was a key reason the poorest conventional farmers were unable to join. Organic farmers on average had lower prevalences, breadths and depths of poverty. Unidimensional and multidimensional poverty analyses showed that the intercropping of mungbeans - introduced into organic farming for its nitrogen-fixing properties - had a positive impact on lowering inequalities between organic and conventional farmers due to widespread adoption by both groups. The dissertation makes significant empirical contributions by providing a comparative study of organic and conventional farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, evaluating who becomes an organic farmer, and measuring the impact of organic agriculture on poverty, inequality and sustainability. These findings have important implications of the potential for the Organic revolution to act as a viable pro-poor development alternative.Ph. D.Includes bibliographical referencesIncludes vitaby Samuel T Lederman
Discourses and Dialogues of the Late Rev. Samuel Porter / With a Biographical Sketch of the Author by the Rev. David Elliott, D.D.
No full textIn the Publisher’s Preface, John T. Shryock writes that this book contains “all that can be recovered of the writings of the late Rev. Samuel Porter” (p. 5). There are 3 discourses, delivered between 1793 and 1811, along with “Dialogues between Death and the Believer; and Death and the Hypocrite” (p. 205). The discourses had previously appeared in pamphlet form; their republication here was intended to provide “specimens of the doctrinal opinions and practical teachings of one, who in the forming state of the Presbyterian Church in Western Pennsylvania, was ‘set for the defence and confirmation of [the] gospel” (p. 5).https://mds.marshall.edu/porter_samuel/1000/thumbnail.jp
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