In the context of urban land-use growth and the consequent impacts on the environment, green spaces provide ecosystem services for human health. The ecosystem services concept synthesises ...human–environmental interactions through a series of combined components of biodiversity and abiotic elements, linking ecological processes and functions. The concept of green infrastructure (GI) in the urban context emphasises the quality and quantity of urban and peri-urban green spaces and natural areas. In dense urban contexts, the applications of GI are limited and not applied to the potential urban spaces such as roofs and gardens. Often, roofs are characterised by impermeable paved surfaces with negative effects on human well-being, whereas garden designs do not consider social needs and environmental interactions. The role of urban stressors or the urban context as a driving force or pressure of urban green space is not always well understood and employed in the planning of green spaces. This is partly due to a knowledge gap between different science disciplines that operate on different scales, from single processes of the plants (which focus on plant responses to environmental stresses affecting human well-being) to urban ecosystems (which focus on the biodiversity and urban space planning–human well-being relationship). This can create a paradox, as green spaces that are not adequately designed might not produce the expected effects. In this paper, an overview of benefits and limitations of applying the ecosystem services approach when designing green spaces is presented. The focus is on the main urban ecosystem services provided by green roofs and community gardens such as GI that can represent strategies to provide ecological and social multifunctionality to waterproofed surfaces connected to the buildings and low-exploited gardens being the main areas that affect dense urban settlements, and thus, increasing the ecosystem services in the urban environment, such as reducing the Urban Heat Island, as well as flooding events. Specifically, the paper highlights (i) feedback between ecological processes and functions that support ecosystem services, (ii) urban environmental stresses in relation to disservices that these can create for human well-being and (iii) key issues that should be considered in the planning and design of urban ecosystem services. Such a new vision of urban ecosystem services highlights the need to look at GI as an active part of the urban space design in the built environment.
Rainfed agro-ecosystems, the purported grey patches untouched by the Green Revolution or most technological advances, occupy a prominent position in Indian agriculture. Cropping intensities and crop ...yields are low and unstable in these areas due to unpredictable patterns of rainfall, a host of biotic and abiotic stresses and adherence to traditional farm practices. This precarious food security situation is especially dangerous in the central Indian tribal belt (also known as the poverty belt) which is a typical rainfed area dominated by tribal communities. More than 90% of the tribal people are totally dependent on agriculture and produce much of what they eat. Small land holdings and their low productivity, along with uncertainties in rainfall patterns, increases economic and social risks for these farmers. With degraded soils and unreliable weather patterns, return on investment is uncertain and likely to be much lower overall than under irrigated conditions with better soils. Under such conditions, one approach to achieve improved crop production is to minimize soil and other natural resource degradation by adopting a set of crop-nutrient-water-land system management practices, such as conservation agriculture (CA). To assess the effect of introduced technology under local ecological and socio-economic conditions, the study focused on two ecosystem services: a) provisional, and b) regulatory through five treatments consisting of farmers' traditional practice (FP) which was conventional tillage with broadcast of local variety maize (Zea mays L.); and four CA treatments viz., conventional tillage with sole cropped maize using line sowing of the improved maize cultivar ‘Nilesh’ (CT-M); conventional tillage with maize intercropped with the improved cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. cultivar ‘Hariyalli Bush’) (CT-M+C); reduced tillage with sole cropped maize (MT-M); and reduced tillage with maize+cowpea (MT-M+C). After harvest of maize and cowpea, mustard was planted as a post rainy season crop and all the mustard plant residues were returned to their respective plots as residue cover except FP. Under provisional ecosystem services, performance of CA on crop yield, and profitability was assessed through maize equivalent yield and partial budget analysis, respectively. Results showed that reduced tillage combined with maize-cowpea intercropping (MT-M+C) followed by mustard residue retention had higher system productivity and net benefits, an increase of 200% and 230%, respectively over FP. Under regulatory ecosystem services, the soil quality was assessed through calculation of soil quality index (SQI) which was highest under MT-M+C followed by mustard residue retention and lowest under farmers' practices. In terms of CA treatment preference, 35% of the farmers indicated a strong preference for MT-M+C compared to 14% for FP. Combined, these results clearly demonstrate the potential of CA to simultaneously increase yield, diversify crop production and improve soil quality which should support a move towards sustainable intensification of crop production to improve future household income and food security. Additionally, using a transdisciplinary approach fully engaged all stakeholders in co-designing the CA treatments appropriate for the farmers and local environmental conditions leading to significant impacts on economic livelihoods, environmental sustainability and food security.
•Transdisciplinary approach to implement and evaluate conservation agriculture (CA)•Effect of CA on system productivity, profitability and soil quality•Comparison of farmer preferences before and after practicing CA•Quantifying the impacts of on farm research action
This article is based on the importance of coexistence in urban housing and the search for methods that are capable of increasing the forms and tendencies of dwellers’ participation. Today, with ...shifting roles in architecture, an approach derived from the interaction of architects, designers, planners, experts, and dwellers is needed to weave an overlapping fusion of different housing approaches. Therefore, today, how can a seamless collaboration be established in cities such as İstanbul, where participation is relatively low? One possible approach to rethinking coexistence as a design process is to apply transdisciplinary (TR) approaches through the architecture and design charrettes that enable active participation through the open and interactive dialogues they provide. Therefore, the role of architectural charrettes in the application of the participatory nature of the TR approach can ensure the development of an open and interactive atmosphere.
The current study examines the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on architectural education, focusing on its challenges and implications on students, educators, and institutions, and the opportunities that ...emerged from the incorporation of online/distance and blended learning in architectural education during the pandemic. Based on observations and literature reviews, this study identifies contemporary challenges and proposes three educational approaches for the transition to a model for architectural education in a digital age considering Covid-19 pandemic opportunities. These educational approaches are based on improving networking, exploration, and flexibility & adaptation, implementing transdisciplinary approach, and integrating information and communication technologies (ICT) in architectural education, in relation to learning design elements. The study presents a model using an instructional approach that provides a vision for post-pandemic architectural education and identifies challenges for educators and institutions for further investigation. This study responds to the call on the pandemic's impact on traditional architectural education.
To determine the effectiveness of a single 10-min postural repositioning session on the maximum phonation duration (MPD) of the vowel/a/in individuals with acquired dysarthria.
A pre-post ...interventional design was implemented; five patients with dysarthria (PWDs) underwent a single 2-hour experimental session. MPD capacities were assessed before and immediately after a 10-min postural repositioning intervention by a physical and occupational therapist. Five age- and sex-matched individuals without dysarthria were recruited as controls. The main outcome measure was the MPD of the vowel/a/at conversational and louder voice levels, with a speech-and-language therapist standing 1 and 6 m away, respectively. Secondary outcome measures were thoracic expansion, manometry, electromyographic recordings of axial muscles and perceived effort.
In PWDs, postural repositioning improved the MPD during the/a/-1-m (80.3% increase) and/a/-6-m tasks (18% increase), increased thoracic expansion and manometric measurements, and reduced the perceived effort necessary to perform the tasks. A triphasic electromyographic pattern was observed during both/a/-1-m and/a/-6-m tasks in controls, but was absent in participants with severe dysarthria, even after postural repositioning. Nonetheless, postural repositioning enabled an earlier onset of EMG activity prior to voice production.
These data suggest the efficacy of postural repositioning in improving phonatory capacities essential for voice production in PWDs.
•Tidal river management (TRM) is practiced in part of Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta.•Multiple barriers exist for implementing TRM.•A transdisciplinary approach is examined to overcome TRM barriers.•The ...transdisciplinary approach can reshape TRM governing values and actions.•The proposed transdisciplinary approach can potentially be applied to TRM projects.
Due to both natural and anthropogenic forces, the south west part of the Ganges-Brahmaputra coastal area is facing diverse problems such as waterlogging, salinity, and loss of biodiversity. In order to address these challenges, local people have identified ‘tidal river management (TRM)’ as a comprehensive approach for sustainably managing this part of the Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin. However, due to institutional limitations, mismanagement and social conflicts, application of the TRM approach is not straightforward. In order to identify existing implementation barriers and to effectively apply the TRM approach, a transdisciplinary approach is examined for its potential to inform the re-shaping of TRM governing values and actions. It is argued that a thorough application of a transdisciplinary framework is essential, supported by the active involvement of key agencies and local stakeholders. The proposed transdisciplinary framework can potentially be applied to TRM projects for solving waterlogging and associated problems in order to achieve greater sustainability of the area.
Ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis provides a powerful means of investigating human migration, social organization, and a plethora of other crucial questions about humanity’s past. Recently, specialists ...have suggested that the ideal research design involving aDNA would include multiple independent lines of evidence. In this paper, we adopt a transdisciplinary approach integrating aDNA with archaeological, biogeochemical, and historical data to investigate six individuals found in two cemeteries that date to the Late Horizon (1400 to 1532 CE) and Colonial (1532 to 1825 CE) periods in the Chincha Valley of southern Peru. Genomic analyses indicate that these individuals are genetically most similar to ancient and present-day populations from the north Peruvian coast located several hundred kilometers away. These genomic data are consistent with 16th century written records as well as ceramic, textile, and isotopic data. These results provide some of the strongest evidence yet of state-sponsored resettlement in the pre-Colonial Andes. This study highlights the power of transdisciplinary research designs when using aDNA data and sets a methodological standard for investigating ancient mobility in complex societies.
Rating scales are popular methods for generating quantitative data directly by persons rather than automated technologies. But scholars increasingly challenge their foundations. This article ...contributes epistemological and methodological analyses of the processes involved in person-generated quantification. They are crucial for measurement because data analyses can reveal information about study phenomena only if relevant properties were encoded systematically in the data. The Transdisciplinary Philosophy-of-Science Paradigm for Research on Individuals (TPS-Paradigm) is applied to explore psychological and social-science concepts of measurement and quantification, including representational measurement theory, psychometric theories and their precursors in psychophysics. These are compared to theories from metrology specifying object-dependence of measurement processes and subject-independence of outcomes as key criteria, which allow tracing data to the instances measured and the ways they were quantified. Separate histories notwithstanding, the article's basic premise is that general principles of scientific measurement and quantification should apply to all sciences. It elaborates principles by which these metrological criteria can be implemented also in psychology and social sciences, while considering their research objects' peculiarities. Application of these principles is illustrated by quantifications of individual-specific behaviors ('personality'). The demands rating methods impose on data-generating persons are deconstructed and compared with the demands involved in other quantitative methods (e.g., ethological observations). These analyses highlight problematic requirements for raters. Rating methods sufficiently specify neither the empirical study phenomena nor the symbolic systems used as data nor rules of assignment between them. Instead, pronounced individual differences in raters' interpretation and use of items and scales indicate considerable subjectivity in data generation. Together with recoding scale categories into numbers, this introduces a twofold break in the traceability of rating data, compromising interpretability of findings. These insights question common reliability and validity concepts for ratings and provide novel explanations for replicability problems. Specifically, rating methods standardize only data formats but not the actual data generation. Measurement requires data generation processes to be adapted to the study phenomena's properties and the measurement-executing persons' abilities and interpretations, rather than to numerical outcome formats facilitating statistical analyses. Researchers must finally investigate how people actually generate ratings to specify the representational systems underlying rating data.
Local knowledge of spatiotemporal patterns of liveability is vital for choosing where to live and where revitalisation efforts must concentrate. We employed transdisciplinary learning to identify 12 ...liveability indicators and applied them to assess the liveability of 81 communities of Accra, Ghana. The results show that crime and rent are the top two most important liveability indicators. The least three indicators are the availability of jobs, entertainment, and flood susceptibility. Out of 81 communities grouped into five quantiles, ten fell in the 1st quantile (most liveable), 24 communities were in the 2nd quantile, 3rd had 24, 4th 17, and 5th nine communities respectively as least liveable. 1st quantile communities are mainly high-income communities, whiles 5th quantile communities are mainly middle-income communities that have become commercial areas. Not surprisingly, high-income communities like the Airport residential area, East Legon, and Dzorwolu all fall into the 2nd quantile as all these communities are gradually turning into mixed commercial and residential places. The study indicates that low-income communities lack social amenities and resources, which can be attributed to a lack of state social intervention policies. This may mean local administration systems (district assemblies) failing as Ghana's development agents.
In 2022, a group of eminent forensic scientists published The Sydney Declaration - Revisiting the essence of forensic science through its fundamental principles in Forensic Science International. The ...Sydney Declaration was delivered to revisit “the essence of forensic science, its purpose, and fundamental principles”. At its heart, revisiting these foundational principles is hoped to “benefit forensic science as a whole to be more relevant, effective and reliable”.
But can these principles be translated operationally by a forensic services provider to achieve the benefits prescribed? How do we make the leap from a theoretical concept and begin to put it into practice to bring about the real and meaningful change that the declaration hopes to achieve?
In this paper we will attempt to discuss how the Australian Federal Police (AFP) Forensics Command has reflected on the Sydney Declaration by relating reforms developed and implemented to our operating model with some selected principles. We hope to show that while the Sydney Declaration could be perceived as academic and disconnected from operations, it has the potential to impact and positively influence reforms and changes for forensic science providers. The AFP Forensics Command experience shows the operational relevance of The Sydney Declaration.
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