The present historical moment may seem a particularly inopportune time to review Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam's latest exploration of civic decline in America. After all, the outpouring of volunteerism, solidarity, patriotism, and self-sacrifice displayed by Americans in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks appears to fly in the face of Putnam's central argument: that \"social capital\" -defined as \"social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them\" (p. 19)'has declined to dangerously low levels in America over the last three decades. However, Putnam is not fazed in the least by the recent effusion of solidarity. Quite the contrary, he sees in it the potential to \"reverse what has been a 30to 40-year steady decline in most measures of connectedness or community.\"' As an example of how the current \"war on terrorism\" could generate a durable civic renewal, Putnam points to the burst in civic practices that occurred during and after World War II, which he says \"permanently marked\" the generation that lived through it and had a \"terrific effect on American public life over the last half-century.\" 3 If Americans can follow this example and channel their current civic

Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community

Impacts of climate variability and change on fishery-based livelihoods

Co-operative Management of Local Fisheries: New Directions for Improved Management and Community Development

Vermicomposting is a process in which earthworms are used to convert organic materials into humus-like material known as vermicompost. A number of researchers throughout the world have found that the nutrient profile in vermicompost is generally higher than traditional compost. In fact, vermicompost can enhance soil fertility physically, chemically and biologically. Physically, vermicompost-treated soil has better aeration, porosity, bulk density and water retention. Chemical properties such as pH, electrical conductivity and organic matter content are also improved for better crop yield. Nevertheless, enhanced plant growth could not be satisfactorily explained by improvements in the nutrient content of the soil, which means that other plant growth-influencing materials are available in vermicomposts. Although vermicomposts have been shown to improve plant growth significantly, the application of vermicomposts at high concentrations could impede growth due to the high concentrations of soluble salts available in vermicomposts. Therefore, vermicomposts should be applied at moderate concentrations in order to obtain maximum plant yield. This review paper discusses in detail the effects of vermicompost on soil fertility physically, chemically and biologically. Future prospects and economy on the use of organic fertilizers in the agricultural sector are also examined.

The use of vermicompost in organic farming: overview, effects on soil and economics

1 Introduction 2 From Rational Choice to McDonaldisation 3 The Short History of Social Capital 4 The BBI Syndrome 5 Social Capital versus Social History 6 Social Capital is Dead: Long Live Whatever Comes Next 7 Management Studies Goes to McDonald's 8 Degradation without Limit 9 W(h)ither Social Capital? Notes Bibliography Index

/pdf/theories-of-social-capital-researchers-behaving-badly-3zt8byvp0d.pdf

Theories of Social Capital: Researchers Behaving Badly

Beyond the death toll, the tsunami of 26 December 2004 crippled many of the livelihood assets (human, social, physical, financial and natural) available to assist those directly affected. Drawing on surveys of three villages in three districts in the south of Sri Lanka, this paper describes the livelihood asset building capacity of the fishing communities. Assessments are also made of the impact of the tsunami on coastal communities and the impact of government policy on rebuilding. A livelihood asset score was calculated for each village by comparing their strengths in capacity building. In all aspects of capital building, including human, social, financial, physical and natural capital, the fishing community in Tangalle was significantly ahead of the fishing communities in Hikkaduwa and Weligama. Experienced fishermen with better educational backgrounds had a significant influence on the capacity building of livelihood assets. Relocation and resettlement plans brought persistent uncertainty to fishermen in Hikkaduwa and Weligama and threatened to disrupt their community bonds and social networks.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1467-7717.2007.01015.x

Effects of the tsunami on fisheries and coastal livelihood: a case study of tsunami-ravaged southern Sri Lanka

Seaweed farming is emerging as a viable alternative activity in the Indonesian fisheries sector. This paper aims to investigate people's perceptions of seaweed farming, to analyze its social and economic impacts and to identify the problems and obstacles hindering its continued development. Structured and semi-structured questionnaires were prepared to obtain qualitative data, and interviews were conducted with fishermen who also plant seaweed. The findings showed that fishermen in the Laikang Bay were enthusiastic about cultivating seaweeds and that seaweed plays a major role in supporting the household economy of fishermen. However, current seaweed drying technologies cannot support increased seaweed production on a farm or plot, especially in the rainy season. Additionally, variable monsoon seasons and long marketing channels are still major constraints on the development of the industry. Finally, capture fisheries, the primary economic livelihood of fishermen of older generations, is being slowly replaced by seaweed farming.

/pdf/coastal-resource-management-fishermen-s-perceptions-of-3u3mgdr1lf.pdf

Coastal Resource Management: Fishermen-s Perceptions of Seaweed Farming in Indonesia

Thai coffee farmers have exerted much effort to develop GAP-based Robusta coffee production since 2008. However, they still lacked knowledge and experience. Their conventional farming activities are often in conflict with GAP system, which might be caused by the limitation of GAP extension procedure. The objectives of this study were to investigate the current perceptions of GAP Coffee Farmers (GCF)’s understanding of GAP, and to identify the factors affecting such perceptions. A series of surveys were conducted in Chumphon province by using structured questionnaires which were administered to fifty-six (56) coffee farmers who applied for GAP certificates in 2013. This study found that farmers’ GAP self-confidence positively affected, while farmers’ GAP experiences had negative impact to the farmers’ understanding of GAP. This showed the lacking of continuity of GAP extension service, although the GAP promotion was an important factor to increase the farmers’ GAP understanding. The very small number of agricultural extension officers was cited as a detrimental factor. The GAP manual should also be simplified to suit the GCFs educational background.

/pdf/factors-affecting-the-implementation-of-good-agricultural-2v0kf9eki2.pdf

Factors Affecting the Implementation of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) among Coffee Farmers in Chumphon Province, Thailand

Sushi is an ancient Japanese art popularized as the crown prince of Pacific Rim party food. The main objective of this study was to analyse Japanese consumers’ sushi purchasing behaviour and their attitudes towards consumption of sushi. This paper also reports the timeline for sushi businesses in Japan. Data on consumers’ sushi consumption habits, demographic characteristics and attitudes towards sushi were collected using structured questionnaires and informal interviews. The sample of consumers included 108 individuals from the Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. Sushi is the most popular traditional food among Japanese consumers. The most common frequency for having sushi meals was between once and less than once a month. Older women were the heaviest consumers, preferring to purchase from supermarkets rather than from specialized sushi bars. Sushi made from tuna was in the highest demand (76%), with salmon as a second choice. The ‘freshness of fish’ and the ‘special price of sushi’ were the most important factors for the final purchasing decision. Sushi consumption patterns in Japan seem to closely reflect the evolution of households’ life cycle.

A yen for sushi: an analysis of demographic and behavioural patterns of sushi consumption in Japan

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose the typology that links the characterization of the irrigated farms with their structural and functional aspects for the context of sustainable irrigated agricultural development.Design/methodology/approach – East Mitidja scheme is selected for this study. About 134 farms are selected from the irrigation scheme. Multiple correspondence and ascendant hierarchical classification are used as data mining tools to characterize the typology of irrigated farms.Findings – The typology provides a way of understanding the diversity of farms with regard to their socio‐economic environment. It also helps to identify those farms that fall into broad categories of unsustainability. The latest implemented agricultural and irrigation policy has a differential effect on various types of farmers, favoring some and discouraging others. The socio‐economic constraints have prevented the implementation of various development programs. This situation leads to the unsustainable e...

A typology of irrigated farms as a tool for sustainable agricultural development in irrigation schemes: The case of the East Mitidja scheme, Algeria

Handle everyday research tasks with reliable, citation-backed results

Your personal Research Agent to handle research tasks with citation-backed results

Popular Tasks used by Researchers

How can I help with your research?

Meet SciSpace

Get more enhanced response by uploading the PDFs you want me to reference.

No relevant PDFs in your library

SciSpace is the AI research assistant for academics. Run systematic literature reviews on 280M+ papers, and write papers with cited sources. Trusted by 1M+ students, PhDs & researchers.

SciSpace | AI for Research

Analyze PDFs

Code & Manuscripts

Funding & Grants

Literature & Patents

Medical & Clinical Data

Systematic Review

Visualize & Present

Web & Data

Build a Google Scholar-like website for your research.

Build a website

Create charts and images for your research

Create a Chart

Write a paper for submission to a journal

Draft a manuscript

Patent Search

Design eye-catching scientific posters in minutes.

Scientific Poster Generation

Systematic Literature Review

One task is running at the moment. Your messages will be shown right after.

Drag and drop or click here to browse

Loved by <highlight>1 million+</highlight> researchers

Extract a list of specific topics and their sources from unstructured text

Topics

Compare and analyze relevant papers that matches with your search

Papers

Get insights from PDFs and bookmarked papers from your library

My library

Recent searches

Try searching for:

Catch AI-generated content in scholarly and non-scholarly content

{ai} Detector

Ai Writer

Get PDF Summaries, highlighted text explanations 

Chat with PDF

Effortlessly create in-text citations and bibliographies in APA and 2,500 other formats

Citation generator

Get explanations, summaries, and answers on academic papers

Ease up your research workflow with {scispace}'s cohort of exciting AI tools

Elevate your academic writing skills and convey your ideas the way you want

Paraphraser

Explore our range of reading and writing tools

Your file is being prepared and should be ready in a few minutes. If it's a large file, it might take a bit longer. You can close this window, and we'll email you the file when it's done.

You have reached a maximum limit of <strong>{limit}</strong> columns in the table. Remove at least <strong>1</strong> column to add or create another one.

Masahiro Yamao

Author Tools

Chat about Author