scholarly journals Identification of Opportunities for Applying the Circular Economy to Intensive Agriculture in Almería (South-East Spain)

Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1499 ◽  
Author(s):  
José A. Aznar-Sánchez ◽  
Juan F. Velasco-Muñoz ◽  
Daniel García-Arca ◽  
Belén López-Felices
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Intensive Agriculture ◽  
High Yield ◽  
Agricultural System ◽  
Transfer Of Knowledge ◽  
Product Packaging ◽  
Agriculture Sector ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
The Government

The use of intensive high-yield agricultural systems has proved to be a feasible alternative to traditional systems as they able to meet the objective of guaranteeing long-term sustainability in the supply of food. In order to implement these systems, it is necessary to replace the traditional model of “extract-use-consume-dispose” with a model based on the principles of the Circular Economy (CE), optimizing the use of resources and minimizing the generation of waste. Almería has become a paradigm of this type of high-yield agricultural system, with the largest concentration of greenhouses in the world. This study analyses the opportunities that the CE can offer the intensive agriculture sector in Almería in order to obtain long-term sustainability. The results show a wide variety of alternatives, both on an agricultural exploitation level and in the case of the product packaging and wholesale centers. The priority areas of action are waste management, the prevention of product waste and the improvement in the efficiency of the use of water and energy. The principal limitations for adopting circular practices are the large investment required, the limited transfer of knowledge between the different users and the lack of sufficient support from the government and the sector.

scholarly journals Menace of Middlemanship in the Light of Islamic Teachings

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-77
Author(s):  
Khalid Mahmood Lodhi ◽  
Naeem Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Market Mechanism ◽  
Agriculture Sector ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Food Market ◽  
The Government ◽  
Essential Food

Despite abundant agricultural production, the prices of fruits, vegetables, and other agricultural items remain high, keeping these products out of the a common man’s reach. Although small and poor farmers work hard throughout the year, yet they remain indebted and poor. There might be various reasons for their plight such as the extraordinarily high prices of agri-food items; however, the role of the middleman (Arhti) seems to be the most damaging in this regard. This paper analyses the role palyed by the middleman in Pakistan in the light of Islamic teachings and primary (through survey questionnaire) and secondary data. The study found that generally, the middleman is a cruel character and causes distortions in the economy, particularly in the agro-food market. He deprives poor farmers of meaningful profit, keeps them under the pressure of debt, and causes price hikes of essential items which leads to artificial inflationary pressures in the economy. Ultimately, this phenomenon exerts pressure on the government as well. The current study also found that the presence of middleman in the supply chain of agro-food items deprives poor farmers of their right of earning genuine profit.Moreover, it also increases the price of essential food items. Hence, in the light of Shariah guidelines, unnecessary brokering needs to be restricted so that farmers are able to sell their produce themselves. Furthermore, the middleman’s role needs to be curtailed for the welfare of the farmers, improvement of the agriculture sector, and the betterment of the economy. The study recommends the framing of comprehensive long-term policies for the purchase of crops, monitoring of fruit / vegetable markets, provision of interest-free loans to farmers, setting up of an efficient market mechanism, establishment of effective consumer courts, and the improvement of the transportation system.

Observations and Recommendations

2019 ◽  
pp. 102-113
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Revolutionary Change ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Government ◽  
Oil Revenues ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

The future of tourism and communication technology are intertwined. As Toffler observed with other revolutionary change, an inter-relationship will be difficult to predict but rewards will be substantial to those who are ahead of the curve. Two critical forces will continue to collide: increased democratization of tourism and increased focus on sustainable use of resources. The growth in incomes and the expansion of low-cost air service make China, India, and a few other developing countries the most rapidly growing tourism markets. This is particularly the case in parts of the Islamic world, resulting in rapidly expanding numbers of Muslims who seek to undertake the Haj. As detailed in a case study, this has resulted in demolition of much of ancient Mecca to make way for tourist hotels, a case where it appears the Saudi government is more interested in offsetting declining oil revenues with tourism revenues than with preservation of a unique tourism asset. Elsewhere the threat of over-tourism is evident in many places. In Europe, this is most evident in Venice where as tourism has expanded, the prices charged for overnight accommodations have shot up, forcing long-term residents to move out of the city and to endure commutes to their places of work back in the city. Local government has a choice – see the asset degrade or limit tourism. The market is well suited to limit tourism, but if the government imposes fees, say a day pass to enter the city, is this an equitable option (i.e., potentially making the city available only to wealthy visitors)? The nation of Bhutan has already imposed a high fee for visitors as a method to maintain the nation's happiness index. The future of tourism is uncertain as is the impact that technology change and concern regarding sustainability.

scholarly journals Optimizing Qatar’s energy system for a post-carbon future

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moiz Bohra ◽  
Nilay Shah
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
National Level ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Energy Infrastructure ◽  
Economic Wealth ◽  
Electric Cars ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
The Government

AbstractGlobal decarbonization efforts, along with domestic pressures to diversify the economy, have created challenges and opportunities for the Qatari energy system. The government is focused on diversifying the national economy away from hydrocarbons, encouraging sustainable use of resources, and ensuring the security of food, energy, and water systems. Our optimization framework allows policymakers to apply a systems approach to the overall energy infrastructure in Qatar, covering a range of sectors such as industry, residential infrastructure, transportation, and agriculture. Our aims are two-fold: first, to develop an open-source tool that can be used for national-level planning and policymaking, and second to use this tool to generate key technology and policy insights that can aid the transition of Qatari energy infrastructure in the long term. Our results provide a blueprint for a cross-sectoral energy transformation: from greater use of low-carbon transport such as electric cars and public transit, to grid-scale adoption of solar energy and reverse osmosis for desalination. Liquefied natural gas is not expected to remain the most economical export, instead being replaced by hydrogen obtained from the steam reforming of natural gas. We have modeled a long-term domestic divestment from hydrocarbon exports and have shown that the country can still retain significant economic wealth in a post-carbon world, thus maintaining existing political, economic, and social structures.

Ruapehu Lahar New Zealand 18 March 2007: Lessons for Hazard Assessment and Risk Mitigation 1995-2007

2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 284-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry J. R. Keys ◽  
◽  
Paul M. Green
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
River System ◽  
Disaster Mitigation ◽  
Transfer Of Knowledge ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Government

A moderately large lahar caused by a collapse of a tephra dam over the outlet of Crater Lake occurred 11 years and 4 months after the situation that led to it was first recognized. This allowed sufficient time for the considerable period needed by emergency managers and the Government to learn from scientists about the hazard, assess risks in pragmatic and robust ways, debate and progressively mitigate them. Early involvement of a wide range of agencies and the media was encouraged, enabling transfer of knowledge, development of interagency relationships and provided fora for a mitigation strategy to evolve in the face of sometimes controversial mitigation options. Decisions about options were based primarily on maximizing public safety and long-term utility in a valley subject to frequent, sometimes large, past and future lahars. These decisions, which had a significant political component also considered option suitability in a national park setting. A best-practice alarm system was installed based on acoustic flow monitors. A training levee structure was built to protect a highway and other vulnerable infrastructure and a river system near-by, and a key highway bridge raised and strengthened. Response agencies each prepared their own emergency plans which were then integrated and practiced over 3-4 years, incorporating an increasing readiness triggered by a Warning Level system linking to rising lake levels. Execution of the plans progressed smoothly on 18 March. The outcome showed that community resilience to lahars was achieved by adopting long-term solutions, rather than short-term ones, and carefully considering cultural, social, and technological perspectives, especially in a national park setting. Decision-making procedures that give weight to impartial scientific information, as well as values and legislation, are required for effective disaster mitigation, including an acceptance of an appropriate degree of residual risk.

Effects of high pressure on the crystallization of carbon fiber reinforced polyetheretherketone (CF/PEEK) laminate composites

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 876-877
Author(s):  
Hong-Ming Lin ◽  
C. H. Liu ◽  
R. F. Lee
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Carbon Fiber ◽  
Sample Surface ◽  
High Yield ◽  
Fiber Reinforced ◽  
Laminate Composites ◽  
Peek Composite ◽  
Continuous Carbon Fiber ◽  
Carbon Fiber Reinforced

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a crystallizable thermoplastic used as composite matrix materials in application which requires high yield stress, high toughness, long term high temperature service, and resistance to solvent and radiation. There have been several reports on the crystallization behavior of neat PEEK and of CF/PEEK composite. Other reports discussed the effects of crystallization on the mechanical properties of PEEK and CF/PEEK composites. However, these reports were all concerned with the crystallization or melting processes at or close to atmospheric pressure. Thus, the effects of high pressure on the crystallization of CF/PEEK will be examined in this study.The continuous carbon fiber reinforced PEEK (CF/PEEK) laminate composite with 68 wt.% of fibers was obtained from Imperial Chemical Industry (ICI). For the high pressure experiments, HIP was used to keep these samples under 1000, 1500 or 2000 atm. Then the samples were slowly cooled from 420 °C to 60 °C in the cooling rate about 1 - 2 degree per minute to induce high pressure crystallization. After the high pressure treatment, the samples were scanned in regular DSC to study the crystallinity and the melting temperature. Following the regular polishing, etching, and gold coating of the sample surface, the scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to image the microstructure of the crystals. Also the samples about 25mmx5mmx3mm were prepared for the 3-point bending tests.

Negative Media Effects and Islamic Remedies (Penyelesaian Kepada Kesan Negatif Media Menurut Perspektif Islam)

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 215
Author(s):  
Mohd. Shuhaimi Ishak
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
Social Influences ◽  
The Political ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Essential Form ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government ◽  
Effects Of Media ◽  
Political Economic

 Abstract Generally speaking, media is extensively used as the means to disseminate news and information pertaining to business, social, political and religious concerns. A portion of the time and space of media has now become an important device to generate economic and social activities that include advertising, marketing, recreation and entertainment. The Government regards them as an essential form of relaying news and information to its citizens and at the same time utilizes them as a powerful public relations’ mechanism. The effects of media are many and diverse, which can either be short or long term depending on the news and information. The effects of media can be found on various fronts, ranging from the political, economic and social, to even religious spheres. Some of the negative effects arising from the media are cultural and social influences, crimes and violence, sexual obscenities and pornography as well as liberalistic and extreme ideologies. This paper sheds light on these issues and draws principles from Islam to overcome them. Islam as revealed to humanity contains the necessary guidelines to nurture and mould the personality of individuals and shape them into good servants. Key Words: Media, Negative Effects, Means, Islam and Principles. Abstrak Secara umum, media secara meluas digunakan sebagai sarana untuk menyebarkan berita dan maklumat yang berkaitan dengan perniagaan, kemasyarakatan, pertimbangan politik dan agama. Sebahagian dari ruang dan masa media kini telah menjadi peranti penting untuk menghasilkan kegiatan ekonomi dan sosial yang meliputi pengiklanan, pemasaran, rekreasi dan hiburan. Kerajaan menganggap sarana-sarana ini sebagai wadah penting untuk menyampaikan berita dan maklumat kepada warganya dan pada masa yang sama juga menggunakannya sebagai mekanisme perhubungan awam yang berpengaruh. Pengaruh media sangat banyak dan pelbagai, samada berbentuk jangka pendek atau panjang bergantung kepada berita dan maklumat yang brekenaan. Kesan dari media boleh didapati mempengaruhi pelbagai aspek, bermula dari bidang politik, ekonomi, sosial bahkan juga agama. Beberapa kesan negatif yang timbul dari media ialah pengaruhnya terhadap budaya dan sosial, jenayah dan keganasan, kelucahan seksual dan pornografi serta ideologi yang liberal dan ekstrim. Kertas ini menyoroti isu-isu ini dan cuba mengambil prinsip-prinsip dari ajaran Islam untuk mengatasinya. Tujuan Islam itu sendiri diturunkan kepada umat manusia ialah untuk menjadi pedoman yang diperlukan untuk membina dan membentuk keperibadian individu dan menjadikan manusia hamba yang taat kepada Tuhannya. Kata Kunci: Media, Kesan Negatif, Cara-cara, Islam dan Prinsip-prinsip.

The Mortality Rate of COVID-19 in Iraq Compare with Iran and Turkey, its Association with the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine and the Iraqi Preparedness Plan Prior to Pandemics. (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rawand Essa
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Bcg Vaccine ◽  
Critical Position ◽  
Preparedness Plan ◽  
Contagious Diseases ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Government

BACKGROUND In the span of COVID-19, the mortality rate has been different from one country to another. As a country in the Middle East Iraq has a critical position, lies between Iran and Turkey while both countries coronavirus cases increase on daily basis, while Iranian mortality rate record is high similar to Turkey. After Wuhan city of China, Lombard of Italy, Qum city in Iran has the highest number of COVID-19 as a first country in the Middle East. OBJECTIVE aim of this study is to show the effect of BCG vaccine during pandemic diseases, especially nowadays at the time of COVID-19. One of the crucial observations is the government preparedness and strategic planning prior pandemics, in which the BCG vaccine is an attenuated live vaccine for control of tuberculosis (TB). BCG vaccine has a non-specific immune effect that is used against pathogens like bacteria and viruses, through the promotion of pro-inflammatory cytokines' secretion. METHODS An epidemiological study has been performed, and it shows that some countries are more prone to contagious diseases like COVID-19, regardless of the main cultural, religious, societal similarities among the three mentioned countries. The information data has been collected from WHO reports and worldometer in 18 February 2020 to 10 May 2020. Regarding the efficacy of the BCG vaccine, relevant data has been retrieved from Google scholar, Pub-med and BCG world-atlas. RESULTS COVID-19 mortality rates are at peak in Iran and Turkey while the mortality rate is very low in Iraq, while the patients that died in Iraq all had history of other long-term diseases as heart disease, blood pressure, cancer etc. CONCLUSIONS From the experiences of the three countries in the life span of COVID-19, the historical plan of BCG vaccine in Iraq in cooperation with WHO since the last decades it shows that COVID-19 mortality rate is lower than other countries due to the early vaccination of the Iraqis, otherwise Iraq is more fragile than Iran and Turkey due to the poor conditions of Iraq in terms of economics, politics, war and other aspects.

Analyzing the roles of newspaper articles and tweets to help alleviate sudden physician absenteeism: case study of Takano Hospital in Fukushima in the long-term aftermath of the 2011 Japan’s triple disaster (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akihiko Ozaki ◽  
Yosuke Onoue ◽  
Anju Murayama ◽  
Taishi Tahara ◽  
Yuki Senoo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Median Number ◽  
Medical Doctor ◽  
Fund Raising ◽  
General Context ◽  
Social Media Networks ◽  
Chronological Change ◽  
The Government ◽  
Newspaper Articles

BACKGROUND Rural physician undersupply is a universal concern, leading to sudden physician absenteeism or unavailability on occasion. While media and social networking services may help mitigate these emergencies, information is lacking about their actual contribution in times of physician absenteeism. On December 30, 2016, the director and sole physician of Takano Hospital in Fukushima, Japan, died. The physician’s passing placed many hospitalized patients in danger. This sudden case of physician unavailability, named the Takano Hospital Crisis, provoked massive attention from the general public, in the media and on social media networks such as Twitter. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to analyze newspaper articles, tweets and Twitter accounts relating to Takano Hospital Crisis. METHODS Newspaper articles and tweets were searched for keywords associated with Takano Hospital Crisis and its former director between October 2016 and June 2017. We first evaluated the chronological change in the number of articles and tweets, and the number of characters and relevant keywords in the articles. Then tweets and influencers who were popular on the Twitter platform from December 30, 2016 to February 28, 2017, were categorized. RESULTS We assessed 151 newspaper articles and 67,006 tweets. The results show that number of newspaper articles and tweets steeply increased and then diminished within the first month of the incident. The median number of characters in newspapers articles was 436 and the most frequent keyword was medical doctor. There were 753 original tweets that were retweeted more than four times from December 30, 2016 to February 28, 2017. Of these, 245 (32.5%) expressed concern. Notable influencers were journalists, news media outlets, and healthcare professionals that helped with fund raising and providing clinical service in the hospital. CONCLUSIONS Twitter could temporarily function in cases of sudden physician absenteeism to attract volunteers and funding, however, this would not be a long-term solution. In a more general context, a long-term effort of supports from the hospitals themselves and the government will be required to manage the persistent state of physician absenteeism.

Case Evidence: Conflict Trajectories in Indonesia, Ivory Coast, and Syria

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaroslav Tir ◽  
Johannes Karreth
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Ivory Coast ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
East Timor ◽  
Intergovernmental Organizations ◽  
Crisis Resolution ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Qualitative Evidence ◽  
The Government

Two low-level armed conflicts, Indonesia’s East Timor and Ivory Coast’s post-2010 election crises, provide detailed qualitative evidence of highly structured intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) engaging in effective civil warpreventing activities in member-states. Highly structured IGOs threatened and sanctioned each of these states and offered (long-term) benefits conditional on successful crisis resolution. The governments were aware of and responded to these IGOs’ concerns, as did the rebels in these respective cases. The early stages of the conflict in Syria in 2011 provide a counterpoint. With Syria’s limited engagement in only few highly structured IGOs, the Syrian government ignored international calls for peace. And, without highly structured IGOs’ counterweight to curtail the government, the rebels saw little reason to stop their armed resistance. The result was a brutal and deadly civil war that continues today.

scholarly journals Introducing a Degrowth Approach to the Circular Economy Policies of Food Production, and Food Loss and Waste Management: Towards a Circular Bioeconomy

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Hoehn ◽  
Jara Laso ◽  
María Margallo ◽  
Israel Ruiz-Salmón ◽  
Francisco José Amo-Setién ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Food Production ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Food Loss ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Assessment Approach ◽  
New Policies

There is a growing debate surrounding the contradiction between an unremitting increase in the use of resources and the search for environmental sustainability. Therefore, the concept of sustainable degrowth is emerging aiming to introduce in our societies new social values and new policies, capable of satisfying human requirements whilst reducing environmental impacts and consumption of resources. In this framework, circular economy strategies for food production and food loss and waste management systems, following the Sustainable Development Goals agenda, are being developed based on a search for circularity, but without setting limits to the continual increase in environmental impacts and resource use. This work presents a methodology for determining the percentage of degrowth needed in any food supply chain, by analyzing four scenarios in a life cycle assessment approach over time between 2020 and 2040. Results for the Spanish case study suggested a degrowth need of 26.8% in 2015 and 58.9% in 2040 in order to achieve compliance with the Paris Agreement targets, highlighting the reduction of meat and fish and seafood consumption as the most useful path.

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