scholarly journals A scoping review of the digital agricultural revolution and ecosystem services: implications for Canadian policy and research agendas

FACETS ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 1955-1985
Author(s):  
Arthur G. Green ◽  
Abdul-Rahim Abdulai ◽  
Emily Duncan ◽  
Alesandros Glaros ◽  
Malcolm Campbell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Big Data Analytics ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Agricultural Technologies ◽  
Novel Foods ◽  
Agricultural Revolution ◽  
Keyword Searches

The application of technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, blockchain, cellular agriculture, and big data analytics to food systems has been described as a digital agricultural revolution with the potential to increase food security and reduce agriculture’s environmental footprint. Yet, the scientific evidence informing how these technologies may impact or enhance ecosystem services has not been comprehensively reviewed. In this scoping review, we examine how digital agricultural technologies may enhance agriculture’s support of ecosystem services. Keyword searches in academic databases resulted in 2337 records, of which 74 records met review criteria and were coded. We identify three clusters of digital agricultural technologies including those that make farm management more precise, increase connectivity, and create novel foods. We then examine modelling and empirical evidence gaps in research linking these technologies to ecosystem services. Finally, we overview barriers to implementing digital agricultural technologies for better ecosystem services management in the Canadian context including economic and political systems; lack of policies on data management, governance, and cybersecurity; and limited training and human resources that prevents producers from fully utilizing these technologies.

scholarly journals 'Strategy-as-practice' by hospital personnel in hospitals: a scoping review protocol

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Carolyn Donohoe ◽  
Kate Frazer ◽  
Diarmuid Stokes ◽  
Thilo Kroll
Keyword(s):  
Scoping Review ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
The Body ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Hospital Personnel ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Strategic Process ◽  
Review Protocol ◽  
Strategy As Practice ◽  
Effective Use

Background: Strategy in hospitals is based on distinct principles and rules which lead organisations to act on chosen priorities. Hospitals are struggling to cope with increasing service demands and activity and need to become more responsive to changing environments while demonstrating effective use of resources. Strategizing involves the active process of sensing, planning, implementing and evaluating strategy. Strategy-as-practice is concerned with what people do about strategy in an organisation, as opposed to the traditional focus on what the organisation has as a strategy. It is recognised that there is a disconnection between strategic planning and implementation, however little is known about how organisational context influences the strategic process or how hospital personnel engage in strategic activities. The aim of this scoping review is to explore the literature on strategizing by hospital personnel in hospitals, and will include literature for hospital both professional and managerial backgrounds, to establish the extent and breadth of strategizing or as it is often termed ‘strategy-as-practice’ in hospitals. Methods: The systematic scoping review will search the literature within the databases of PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, ABI/INFORM (Proquest) and OpenGrey.net to explore the scientific evidence on strategizing in hospitals. The review will be based on the Arksey & O’Malley (2005) framework of five mandatory steps which was updated (Levac et al 2010, Colquhoun et al 2014 & Peters 2015) and is published online by the Joanna Briggs Institute. It will follow the PRISMA-ScP reporting guidelines. Conclusion: A scoping review methodology will provide a framework to explore strategizing in hospitals comprehensively and map the body of literature for this subject, which has not been conducted previously. This review will summarise the evidence on the use of strategy as practice in hospitals.  Based on the findings we will identify knowledge gaps and areas for future research.

scholarly journals Application of action research in the field of healthcare: a scoping review protocol

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 46
Author(s):  
Mary Casey ◽  
David Coghlan ◽  
Áine Carroll ◽  
Diarmuid Stokes ◽  
Kinley Roberts ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Traditional Research ◽  
Comprehensive Framework ◽  
Research Studies

Background: Traditional research approaches are increasingly challenged in healthcare contexts as they produce abstract thinking rather than practical application. In this regard, action research is a growing area of popularity and interest, essentially because of its dual focus on theory and action. However, there is a need for action researchers not only to justify their research approach but also to demonstrate the quality of their empirical studies. Therefore, the authors set out to examine the current status of the quality of extant action research studies in healthcare to encourage improved scholarship in this area. The aim of this scoping review is to identify, explore and map the literature regarding the application of action research in either individual, group or organisational domains in any healthcare context. Methods: The systematic scoping review will search the literature within the databases of CINAHL, PubMed and ABI/Inform within the recent five-year period to investigate the scientific evidence of the quality of action research studies in healthcare contexts. The review will be guided by Arksey and O'Malley’s five mandatory steps, which have been updated and published online by the Joanna Briggs Institute. The review will follow the PRISMA-ScR framework guidelines to ensure the standard of the methodological and reporting approaches are exemplary. Conclusion: This paper outlines the protocol for an exploratory scoping review to systematically and comprehensively map out the evidence as to whether action research studies demonstrate explicitly how the essential factors of a comprehensive framework of action research are upheld. The review will summarise the evidence on the quality of current action research studies in healthcare. It is anticipated that the findings will inform future action researchers in designing studies to ensure the quality of the studies is upheld.

scholarly journals Taking the Relationship Between Populism and Healthcare Seriously: A Call for Empirical Analysis Rather Than Moral Condemnation Comment on "A Scoping Review of Populist Radical Right Parties’ Influence on Welfare Policy and its Implications for Population Health in Europe"

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martijn Felder ◽  
Iris Wallenburg ◽  
Syb Kuijper ◽  
Roland Bal
Keyword(s):  
Scoping Review ◽  
Radical Right ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Welfare Policies ◽  
Populist Radical Right ◽  
Radical Right Parties ◽  
Firm Basis ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Do So

In this commentary, we reflect on Rinaldi and Bekker’s scoping review of the literature on populist radical right (PRR) parties and welfare policies. We argue that their review provides political scientists and healthcare scholars with a firm basis to further explore the relationships between populism and welfare policies in different political systems. In line with the authors, we furthermore (re)emphasize the need for additional empirical inquiries into the relationship between populism and healthcare. But instead of expanding the research agenda suggested – for instance by adding categories or niches in which this relationship can be observed – we would like to challenge some of the premises of the studies conducted and reviewed thus far. We do so by identifying two concerns and by illustrating these concerns with two examples from the Netherlands.

Contributions of Urban Agro Ecological Agriculture to Ecosystem Services

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
José G. Vargas-Hernández ◽  
Olga E. Domené-Painenao
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Social Equity ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Environmental Services ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
The Social

This paper has the aim to analyze the implications of the transition of ecosystem services based on urban agro ecology. It advances on the debate over the negative effects of the traditional and industrial oriented agricultural production on the ecosystem services, food systems, climate change, etc. and analyses the principles, methods, and some practices that support the transition to urban agro ecology. The method employed is the analytical of the theoretical and empirical literature review. It concludes that a transition from traditional and industrial-oriented agriculture towards more urban agro ecology is inevitable to improve the ecological and environmental services, the economic efficiency, the social equity and justice, and the environmental sustainability of cities.

scholarly journals Three types of scientific evidence to inform physical activity policy: results from a comparative scoping review

2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 553-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfred Rütten ◽  
Diana Schow ◽  
João Breda ◽  
Gauden Galea ◽  
Sonja Kahlmeier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Physical Activity Policy

Are shrubs really a sign of declining ecosystem function? Disentangling the myths and truths of woody encroachment in Australia

2014 ◽  
Vol 62 (7) ◽  
pp. 594 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Eldridge ◽  
Santiago Soliveres
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Shrub Encroachment ◽  
Woody Encroachment ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Landscape Degradation ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Grass Growth ◽  
Open Woodland

Since European settlement, there has been a dramatic increase in the density, cover and distribution of woody plants in former grassland and open woodland. There is a widespread belief that shrub encroachment is synonymous with declines in ecosystem functions, and often it is associated with landscape degradation or desertification. Indeed, this decline in ecosystem functioning is considered to be driven largely by the presence of the shrubs themselves. This prevailing paradigm has been the basis for an extensive program of shrub removal, based on the view that it is necessary to reinstate the original open woodland or grassland structure from which shrublands are thought to have been derived. We review existing scientific evidence, particularly focussed on eastern Australia, to question the notion that shrub encroachment leads to declines in ecosystem functions. We then summarise this scientific evidence into two conceptual models aimed at optimising landscape management to maximise the services provided by shrub-encroached areas. The first model seeks to reconcile the apparent conflicts between the patch- and landscape-level effects of shrubs. The second model identifies the ecosystem services derived from different stages of shrub encroachment. We also examined six ecosystem services provided by shrublands (biodiversity, soil C, hydrology, nutrient provision, grass growth and soil fertility) by using published and unpublished data. We demonstrated the following: (1) shrub effects on ecosystems are strongly scale-, species- and environment-dependent and, therefore, no standardised management should be applied to every case; (2) overgrazing dampens the generally positive effect of shrubs, leading to the misleading relationship between encroachment and degradation; (3) woody encroachment per se does not hinder any of the functions or services described above, rather it enhances many of them; (4) no single shrub-encroachment state (including grasslands without shrubs) will maximise all services; rather, the provision of ecosystem goods and services by shrublands requires a mixture of different states; and (5) there has been little rigorous assessment of the long-term effectiveness of removal and no evidence that this improves land condition in most cases. Our review provides the basis for an improved, scientifically based understanding and management of shrublands, so as to balance the competing goals of providing functional habitats, maintaining soil processes and sustaining pastoral livelihoods.

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