Analysis and Solutions to Environmental Problems in Livestock Farming

The intensifi cation of agricultural production has led to the disruption of nutrient cycles in agroecosystems. In livestock farming, one of the key problems is the low degree of using secondary resources (organic fertilizers based on manure and manure). (Research purpose) To substantiate the basic principles of assessing the agroecosystem environmental sustainability and to develop engineering methods for ensuring environmental safety in livestock farming. (Materials and methods) To solve the problems of agroecological assessment, eff ective technology choice and intelligent system creation, the following indicators were used: 1. specifi c density of animals (mainly for macro-assessment); 2. nutrient balance (the diff erence in the amount of nitrogen available in the formed organic fertilizers with environmentally safe consumption); 3. nitrogen losses during the disposal of organic waste from livestock farming; 4.the eff ectiveness of implementing the best available techniques (BAT). (Results and discussion) Using the assessment of indicators 1 and 2 in the case of the Leningrad region, it was revealed that 3 districts are classifi ed as territories with an excessive risk to the environment, 1 district is classifi ed as a territory with a high risk, 5 districts – with an acceptable risk, and 8 districts – with a low risk to the environment. To solve problems in areas with excessive and high load, we conducted an assessment on indicators 3 and 4, which allowed us to explore technical solutions and select the BAT to reduce the environmental burden. The obtained results showed that among the main technical solutions in the fi eld of organic waste management of livestock farming are biofermentation and the introduction of liquid organic fertilizers. Biofermentation in special chambers can reduce emissions of polluting gases by more than 2 times, and speed up the processing process by more than 60 times. To work with liquid organic fertilizers, intelligent machines with low-emission working bodies have been developed to reduce nitrogen losses during application by up to 50 percent. To solve the problems of agricultural monitoring and engineering solution management, a digital system has been developed that allows to model scenarios of technological development and their impact on the agroecosystem environmental sustainability. (Conclusions) The results obtained allow us to systematically analyze the problems of agroecosystem environmental sustainability and propose specifi c technical and optimization solutions for livestock farming.

Center Pivot Irrigation Systems and Where to Find Them: A Deep Learning Approach to Provide Inputs to Hydrologic and Economic Models

Availability and quality of administrative data on irrigation technology varies greatly across jurisdictions. Technology choice, however, will influence the parameters of coupled human-hydrological systems. Equally, changing parameters in the coupled system may drive technology adoption. Here we develop and demonstrate a deep learning approach to locate a particularly important irrigation technology—center pivot irrigation systems—throughout the Ogallala Aquifer. The model does not rely on super computers and thus provides a model for an accessible baseline to train and deploy on other geographies. We further demonstrate that accounting for the technology can improve the insights in both economic and hydrological models.

Ballast water management: technology choice comparing TODIM and THOR 2

This paper approaches the problem of ballast water treatment in ships. This has been identified as one of the four greatest threats to the world’s oceans. Solutions that have been considered for solving the problem are alternative water treatment technologies. In the case study reported in this paper three major water treatment technologies have been evaluated with the help of twenty-six criteria, quantitative as well as qualitative by using two discrete multicriteria methods, TODIM and THOR 2. The THOR 2 consists of the axiomatic evolution of the THOR method and both THOR 2 and THOR are made available through the THOR Web platform. Five groups of evaluation criteria are then considered: practicality; biological effectiveness; cost/benefit ratio; time frame for the implementation of standards; and environmental impact of the process' sub-products. In this paper a case study on choosing a ballast water treatment technology is presented. Three alternative ballast water management technologies are proposed by experts in the field and are evaluated with the help of twenty-six criteria, quantitative as well as qualitative. Each ballast water management method is described by a list of twenty-six attributes or criteria. After setting the problem in a clear way and consulting different experts, the two separate applications of both TODIM and THOR 2 are performed. What is denoted as Management Method #1 is indeed chosen as the best alternative according to both methods. The conclusion is that those two methods, although conceptually and analytically quite different, lead essentially to the same main results. Two other applications of both TODIM and THOR have indeed confirmed the convergence of results in spite of the conceptual and technical differences between the two methods. This suggests that formulating a decision problem in a correct, clear-cut way can be at least as important as the technical characteristics of the method per se.

Factors Affecting the Efficiency of Teaching Process in Higher Education in the Republic of Serbia during COVID-19

From the moment the Republic of Serbia declared a state of emergency in the summer semester of 2019/2020, higher education institutions (HEIs) used various teaching models from Distance Learning Systems (DLS), online platforms and modern information and communication technologies (ICT), to sending materials via student e-mails and notifications via faculty portals. Using survey research as a method, the paper describes the experiences of teachers and associates at HEIs in Serbia (780 respondents) regarding the efficiency of provided education services. In this article, we used the method of content analysis and participatory observation, as well. We analysed the attitudes of teachers and associates apropos the efficiency of providing educational services through the work from home (WFH) model and distance learning (DL) and other models used in response to COVID-19 epidemiological measures in education. During the WFH setup, we looked for factors that affect educational efficiency. When it comes to the statistical technique, factor analysis was selected. Technology, managerial support, and work–home conflict are all expected to impact process efficiency, so these were the first criteria considered when selecting potential factors. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used as the extraction method, and the Varimax rotation method was also used. We discarded all factors with eigenvalues below one. Four factors caught our attention: School management support, Family–work conflict, Home infrastructure, and Technology choice. The results showed that F1 (School management support) is positively correlated to F2 (Family–work conflict) and efficiency and negatively correlated to F3 (Home infrastructure). Conversely, F2 is negatively correlated to F3 and positively correlated to efficiency. The F4 factor shows no significant correlations to other factors.

Dynamics of Customary Land Rights and Its Impact on the Agronomic Choices for Small Farmers in the South Kivu province, Eastern DR Congo

In Africa, there is still observed a land related legal plurality despite innovations undertaken since colonial times. In DR Congo, while by law land remains the property of the State, it remains difficult to manage rural lands, ignoring customary practices. In fact, alongside the “modern” land administration, the majority of rural lands are covered by customary contracts. Meanwhile, these contracts have evolved due to different socio-political issues in the DRC and particularly in its eastern part. This study aimed at understanding these changes and thus the impact resulted in agricultural activities, especially the small farmers’ technology choice. The study is based on households’ surveys in the Mbinga Sud zone as well as from other stakeholders on land in the Kalehe territory, South Kivu province, eastern DRC. Through this study, it is noted that customary land contracts have sufficiently evolved due to the population growth, innovations taken in land administration in the country, the wars that occurred in the eastern DR Congo, the attractiveness of rural land by elites and rich businessmen leading to land concentration etc. Given this situation, some practices such as purchase and lease of land were thus developed to cope with weak customary land acquisition mechanisms, the land scarcity and / or land depletion and the fear of land grabbing by the strongest. These changes also have an impact on some agricultural practices, including the fertilization of farms, the choice of crops and varieties to grow as well as many other cultivation techniques. Received: 3 June 2021 / Accepted: 4 September 2021 / Published: 5 November 2021

Revisiting How Perceived Uncertainty and Herd Behavior Influence Technology Choice

Understanding how herd behavior occurs in the information systems context is important because such behavior influences many choice decisions, is the reason for some decision anomalies, and explains the reasons behind the rise or collapse of technology trends. Perceived uncertainty is a critical factor that triggers herding, but despite its influential role, prior research has not adequately investigated this broad concept. This research contributes to the literature by decomposing perceived uncertainty to its dimensions and analyzing the influence of each one on triggering individuals’ herd behavior. Our findings show that unlike state uncertainty, only effect and response uncertainty are the triggers herd behavior.

Revisiting How Perceived Uncertainty and Herd Behavior Influence Technology Choice

Understanding how herd behavior occurs in the information systems context is important because such behavior influences many choice decisions, is the reason for some decision anomalies, and explains the reasons behind the rise or collapse of technology trends. Perceived uncertainty is a critical factor that triggers herding, but despite its influential role, prior research has not adequately investigated this broad concept. This research contributes to the literature by decomposing perceived uncertainty to its dimensions and analyzing the influence of each one on triggering individuals’ herd behavior. Our findings show that unlike state uncertainty, only effect and response uncertainty are the triggers herd behavior.

EXPRESS: Down a Rabbit Hole: How Prior Media Consumption Shapes Subsequent Media Consumption

Consumers often become “stuck in a rabbit hole” when consuming media. They may watch several YouTube videos in the same category or view several artistic images on Instagram on the same theme, finding it difficult to stop. What contributes to this behavior, causing consumers to choose to consume additional media on a similar (vs. different) topic to what they just experienced? The authors examine a novel antecedent: the consecutive consumption of multiple similar media. After viewing multiple similar media consecutively, more consumers choose to view additional similar media over dissimilar media or complete a dissimilar activity entirely, even when the prior consumption pattern is externally induced. The rabbit hole effect occurs due to increased accessibility of the shared category—when a category is more accessible, people feel immersed in that category and anticipate that future options within that category will be more enjoyable. The authors identify three characteristics of media consumption that contribute to the rabbit hole effect by increasing category accessibility: similarity, repetition, and consecutiveness of prior media consumption. This research contributes to literature on technology, choice, and variety-seeking and offers implications for increasing (vs. slowing) similar consumption.