scholarly journals Local Notions of Alternative Practices: Organic Food Movements in Bangkok, Thailand and Chennai, India

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1952
Author(s):  
Judith Bopp
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Organic Food ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Food Movements ◽  
Long Term Observation ◽  
The Right ◽  
Alternative Practices ◽  
Sustainable Agricultural Practices ◽  
Western Perspective

I argue that the common discourses on alternative practices often entail a Western perspective and are sometimes treated as new paths of thinking. This also applies to alternative food practices such as organic farming. Based on empirical research on organic food movements in Bangkok and Chennai, I suggest two examples of alternative practices that have become naturally incorporated in daily routines. Through qualitative expert interviews, long-term observation, and action research, the study reveals that in these movements, urbanites advocate for the right to healthy foods and solidarity with rural farmers, and that farmers employ local sustainable farming methods, including careful resource management and agricultural diversity. Stakeholder engagement is long-term and embraces a spiritual-cultural tone of alternativeness. Based on my findings from my case studies, I propose the following two recommendations. First, the alternative practice discourse needs to open up to the existing plurality of perspectives—openness may prevent the alternative practice discourse from overlooking notable sources of inspiration from societies that inherently perform a diversity of sustainable agricultural practices. Second, continuity, local sustainability notions, and mindfulness need to be included as criteria in the debate. The incorporation of these three themes represented by my two case studies may enrich the discourse through a more local, Global South perspective on alternativeness, and advance its conceptualization.

scholarly journals Posterior Uveal Effusion after Cataract Surgery

2021 ◽  
pp. 62-67
Author(s):  
Annegret Abaza ◽  
Özlem Dikmetas ◽  
Irmingard Neuhann ◽  
Faik Gelisken
Keyword(s):  
Cataract Surgery ◽  
Corticosteroid Therapy ◽  
Anterior Segment ◽  
Subretinal Fluid ◽  
Posterior Pole ◽  
Functional Improvement ◽  
Long Term Observation ◽  
The Right ◽  
Uveal Effusion

We report a case of posterior uveal effusion (UE) with a long-term follow-up that has occurred following cataract surgery. A 64-year-old woman presented with diminished vision of the right eye (RE) 3 weeks after an uneventful phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation. Complete ophthalmic examination including fluorescein angiography (FA), indocyanine green angiography (ICGA), echography and optical coherence tomography (OCT) were performed. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of the RE was 20/50. Anterior segment and intraocular pressure were unremarkable. OCT revealed prominent folds of the choroid and retina, subretinal fluid and darkening of the choroid with reduced visibility of the choroidal vessels and the scleral border. The left eye (LE) was unremarkable. BCVA of the LE was: 20/20. After topical anti-inflammatory and systemic corticosteroid therapy for 5 months, no morphological change of the macula was seen. The patient was observed without any treatment. Forty-three months after the cataract surgery and 38 months after cessation of the corticosteroid therapy, OCT revealed a normal macular morphology and the BCVA improved to 20/25. Even though rare, UE at the posterior pole may occur after modern cataract surgery. OCT examination is a reliable tool in monitoring the macular morphology. Since morphological and functional improvement can be seen in long-term, observation may be considered for some cases of posterior UE with resistance to the therapy.

scholarly journals The Role of Citizen Science in Sustainable Agriculture

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 10375
Author(s):  
Khaldoon A. Mourad ◽  
Seyyed Hasan Hosseini ◽  
Helen Avery
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Agriculture ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Science Literature ◽  
Target Groups ◽  
Sustainable Solutions ◽  
Farming Communities ◽  
Sustainable Agricultural Practices

Farmers know much more than we think, and they are keen to improve their knowledge in order to improve their farms and increase their income. On the other hand, decision-makers, organizations, and researchers are increasing their use of citizen volunteers to strengthen their outcomes, enhance project implementation, and approach ecosystem sustainability. This paper assesses the role of citizen science relating to agricultural practices and covers citizen science literature on agriculture and farmers’ participation during the period 2007–2019. The literature was examined for the role of citizen science in supporting sustainable agriculture activities, pointing to opportunities, challenges, and recommendations. The study identified the following gaps: insufficient attention to (1) long-term capacity building and dialogue between academics and farming communities; (2) developing countries in the global South and smallholders; (3) agriculture trading and marketing; (4) the rationales of selecting target groups; (5) contributing to accelerated sustainability transitions. The main aim of the research projects reviewed in this study tended to focus on the research outcomes from an academic perspective, not sustainable solutions in practice or sustainability in general. More research is needed to address these gaps and to widen the benefits of citizen science in sustainable agricultural practices.

Does our lack of vision threaten the viability of the reconstruction of disturbed ecosystems?

1995 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denis A. Saunders
Keyword(s):  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Community Action ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Clear Understanding ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Legislative Action ◽  
Sustainable Agricultural Practices ◽  
Ecologically Sustainable

There is widespread acceptance that in the extensive wheat-sheep zone of Australia, development for agriculture and associated changes to ecological processes have resulted in major problems of loss of species, land degradation and potential decreases in agricultural productivity. Present agricultural practices are not sustainable. There has been a range of responses to these changes, from community action through Landcare and revegetation projects, to legislative action. Unfortunately, these responses and the actions that follow, are usually carried out without any long-term context or any clear understanding of what we want our agricultural landscapes to look like in 150?200 years. While phrases such as "achieve the conservation of biological diversity through the adoption of ecologically sustainable agricultural practices" are being widely used, they will never become reality without the development of a vision of what we as a society want these landscapes to look like and how we want them to function. As a matter of urgency, we should develop a collective vision for the future of our agricultural landscapes and use that vision to provide the framework to integrate conservation of the biota with management for agricultural production, while addressing the environmental problems we face now or which may arise as we adapt management to changing environmental conditions.

ADAPTIVE INFORMATION ACCESS: PERSONALIZATION AND PRIVACY

2007 ◽  
Vol 21 (02) ◽  
pp. 183-205
Author(s):  
BARRY SMYTH
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Information Overload ◽  
Information Access ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Exponential Rate ◽  
Potential Solution ◽  
The Right ◽  
Personalization Technology ◽  
Privacy Issues

As online information continues to grow at an exponential rate our ability to access this information effectively does not, and users are often frustrated by how difficult it is to locate the right information quickly and easily. So-called personalization technology is a potential solution to this information overload problem: by automatically learning about the needs and preferences of users, personalized information access solutions have the potential to offer users a more proactive and intelligent form of information access that is sensitive to their long-term preferences and current needs. In this paper, we document two case-studies of the use of personalization techniques to support information browsing and search. In addition, we consider the inevitable privacy issues that go hand-in-hand with profiling and personalization techniques and highlight the importance of striking the right balance between privacy and personalization when it comes to the development and deployment of practical systems.

Process Induced Defects in the Silicon Substrate: Approaches for Successful Failure Analysis

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.G. van Hassel ◽  
Xiao-Mei Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Failure Analysis ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Silicon Substrate ◽  
Processing Technique ◽  
Electrical Characteristics ◽  
Localization Method ◽  
The Right ◽  
Induced Defects

Abstract Failures induced in the silicon substrate by process marginalities or process mistakes need continuous attention in new as well as established technologies. Several case studies showing implant related defects and dislocations in silicon will be discussed. Depending on the electrical characteristics of the failure the localization method has to be chosen. The emphasis of the discussion will be on the importance of the right choice for further physical de-processing to reveal the defect. This paper focuses on the localization method, the de- processing technique and the use of Wright etch for subsequent TEM preparation.

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