How Land Use Policies Are Transforming Shifting Cultivation to Short Fallow Systems and Permanent Cultivation of Annual Crops in Tanzania

Recent studies show that shifting cultivation in Tanzania has transformed into more intensive farming practices. One of the drivers of this shift is the implementation of policies that favor sedentary farming. However, there is inadequate information on how this transformation operates at the village level. Based on a case study of one village in Central Tanzania, this study demonstrates that the village land use plan is the primary policy tool for the transformation and intensification of shifting cultivation at the village level. Through the land use planning process, land is allocated only for lawful uses such as settlement, permanent cultivation, and the village forest reserve. No land is designated for shifting cultivation. Additionally, the land use plans are accompanied by by-laws that restrict shifting cultivation practices, such as the use of fire during land preparation and leaving the land fallow for more than 3 years. The intensification of shifting cultivation was not associated with an increase in the use of farm inputs such as improved seeds, fertilizer, or irrigation, as is commonly practiced in sustainable intensive agriculture. Instead, it was associated with the adoption of short fallow farming systems and labor-intensive land preparation methods, such as deep plowing to loosen the soil and sub-soiling vegetation.

Providing Global Awareness in Distributed Dynamic Systems

The paper investigates applicability of the developed high-level model and technology for solution of diverse problems in large distributed dynamic systems which can provide sufficient awareness of their structures,organization,and functionalities.After the review of meanings of awareness and existing approaches for its expression and support,the paper shows application of the Spatial Grasp Model and Technology(SGT)and its basic Spatial Grasp Language(SGL)for very practical awareness solutions in large distributed dynamic systems,with obtaining any knowledge from any point inside or outside the system.The self-evolving,self-replicating,and self-recovering scenario code in SGL can effectively supervise distributed systems under any circumstances including rapidly changing number of their elements.Examples are provided in SGL for distributed networked systems showing how in any node any information about other nodes and links,including the whole system,can be obtained by using network requesting patterns based on recursive scenarios combining forward and backward network matching and coverage.The returned results may be automatically organized in networked patterns too.The presented exemplary solutions are parallel and fully distributed,without the need of using vulnerable centralized resources,also very compact.This can be explained by fundamentally different philosophy and ideology of SGT which is not based on traditional partitioned systems representation and multiple agent communications.On the contrary,SGT and its basic language supervise and control distributed systems by holistic self-spreading recursive code in wavelike,virus-like,and even“soul-like”mode.

Resource use efficiency, ecological intensification and sustainability of intercropping systems

The rapidly growing demand for food, feed and fuel requires further improvements of land and water management, crop productivity and resource-use efficiencies.Combined field experimentation and crop growth modelling during the past five decades made a great leap forward in the understanding of factors that determine actual and potential yields of monocrops.The research field of production ecology developed concepts to integrate biological and biophysical processes with the aim to explore crop growth potential in contrasting environments.To understand the potential of more complex systems（multi-cropping and intercropping） we need an agro-ecosystem approach that integrates knowledge derived from various disciplines： agronomy, crop physiology, crop ecology, and environmental sciences（soil, water and climate）.Adaptation of cropping systems to climate change and a better tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses by genetic improvement and by managing diverse cropping systems in a sustainable way will be of key importance in food security.To accelerate sustainable intensification of agricultural production, it is required to develop intercropping systems that are highly productive and stable under conditions with abiotic constraints（water, nutrients and weather）.Strategies to achieve sustainable intensification include developing tools to evaluate crop growth potential under more extreme climatic conditions and introducing new crops and cropping systems that are more productive and robust under conditions with abiotic stress.This paper presents some examples of sustainable intensification management of intercropping systems that proved to be tolerant to extreme climate conditions.

Farming systems and crop-livestock land use consensus. Tanzanian perspectives

Agriculture is an important source of economic survival of rural populations, and with great power for poverty reduction in the economy. For this reason farming systems that are most efficient have to be sought. This paper explores crop-based and pastoralism farming systems under conflicting land use relations. Incidences of violent conflicts are highlighted, which usually assume a depoliticised expression as inter-group conflicts. Competition for resources (land and water) is an important reason for such conflict, but the role of the state in protection of property rights is also advocated to nurture rivalry. Very wide difference in conception, that to the pastoralists property is cattle, land is common property open to herds, while to crop farmers land is property, which is divided between households, complicates the conflict resolution. State bias exists in the protection of property rights. Mechanisms for the state bias arebriefly cited. This paper suggests a farming systems educational approach as a way to reduce environmentally stressful practice, and strengthen the study of administrative regulation that harmonizes equity in conflicting land use.

Integrating water use systems and soil and water conservation measures into a hydrological model of an Iranian Wadi system

Water resources are precious in arid and semi-arid areas such as the Wadis of Iran. To sustainably manage these limited water resources, the residents of the Iranian Wadis have been traditionally using several water use systems(WUSs) which affect natural hydrological processes. In this study, WUSs and soil and water conservation measures(SWCMs) were integrated in a hydrological model of the Halilrood Basin in Iran. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool(SWAT) model was used to simulate the hydrological processes between 1993 and 2009 at daily time scale. To assess the importance of WUSs and SWCMs, we compared a model setup without WUSs and SWCMs(Default model) with a model setup with WUSs and SWCMs(WUS-SWCM model). When compared to the observed daily stream flow, the number of acceptable calibration runs as defined by the performance thresholds(Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency(NSE)≥0.68, –25%≤percent bias(PBIAS)≤25% and ratio of standard deviation(RSR)≤0.56) is 177 for the Default model and 1945 for the WUS-SWCM model. Also, the average Kling–Gupta efficiency(KGE) of acceptable calibration runs for the WUS-SWCM model is higher in both calibration and validation periods. When WUSs and SWCMs are implemented, surface runoff(between 30% and 99%) and water yield(between 0 and 18%) decreased in all sub-basins. Moreover, SWCMs lead to a higher contribution of groundwater flow to the channel and compensate for the extracted water by WUSs from the shallow aquifer. In summary, implementing WUSs and SWCMs in the SWAT model enhances model plausibility significantly.

Diversity and Importance of Benin’s Forests and Agroforestry Systems Woody Species in Mortars and Pestles Manufacture

The disappearance of resources with high genetic potential and great utility for people and the challenge of the conservation and sustainable management of these resources are two opposing facts of which the world is now concerned. In Benin, forests and agroforestry systems complement each other in wood supply for mortar and pestle manufacture. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the diversity of woody species used for mortar and pestle manufacture and to analyze the preferences of manufacturers through an ethnobotanical approach. Based on the snowball sampling method, and interviews with 112 manufacturers from different ethnic groups, we identified 31 tree species. These species belong to 30 genera and 13 plant families. The Fabaceae are more represented with 14 species (i.e. 45% of the total). Ten are frequently used. But there are four species, such as Vitellaria paradoxa C. F. Gaertn., Prosopis africana (Guill. & Perr.) Taub., Terminalia glaucescens Planch. ex Benth. and Pericopsis laxiflora (Benth.) Meeuwen, which are highly preferred by manufacturers respectively. The calculation of the Indexes of Possession of Global Knowledge (IPSG) revealed that the ethnic group Nagot (0.204) possessed more knowledge and is followed by Mahi (0.201) and Fon (0.18) respectively. Forests and agroforestry systems are both supply sites for manufacturers. The non-parametric Wilcoxon test proved that there are no significant differences between the species’ preference for mortars or pestles manufacture (v = 181, p-value = 0.38). Since the trees cutting in agroforestry systems can be destructive to them, provisions such as the promotion of agroforestry in rural areas and the integration of the used species in the reforestations programs must be taken to curb the pressure and contribute to the conservation of the biodiversity.

Economic Analysis Study of Agricultural and Solar Complementary System

Agro-photovoltaic complementary system(APCS)is an innovative land use model combining agricultural production with photovoltaic power generation,aiming to realize dual land use and improve land use efficiency and economic benefits by installing photovoltaic panels on farmland.With the growth of global energy demand and the intensification of climate change,agro-photovoltaic(APV)systems have received widespread attention as a sustainable energy solution.Studies have shown that agro-photovoltaic systems exhibit significant economic benefits in different regions and crop types.Through reasonable system design and optimization,the agricultural and photovoltaic complementary system is not only technically feasible,but also has significant economic advantages,which provides a strong support for achieving the goal of sustainable development.

Effect of pulse drip irrigation and mulching systems on yield, quality traits and irrigation water use efficiency of soybean under sandy soil conditions

Two field experiments were carried out during growing seasons 2010 and 2011, it executed in research farm of national research center in Nubaryia region, Egypt to study the effect of pulse drip irrigation and mulching systems for saving water, increasing and improving yield of soybean. The study factors were, pulse drip irrigation technology (adding of daily water requirements on 4 times, 8 times, 12 times compared with adding of daily water requirements on 1 time) and mulching systems (covering the soil with black plastic mulch “BPM”, rice straw mulch “RSM” and the control treatment was soil surface without mulch “WM”). The following parameters were studied to evaluate the effect of pulse drip irrigation and mulching systems: 1) Soil moisture distribution in root zone, 2) Growth characters of soybean plant, 3) Yield of soybean, 4) Irrigation water use efficiency of soybean “IWUE soybean”, and 5) Oil content and oil yield, 6) Protein content and protein yield, 7) Economical parameter. According to the economical view and the results of statistical analysis for effect of pulse drip irrigation and mulching systems on yield, quality traits and IWUE soybean indicated that, applying the irrigation requirements on 8 pulses/day with using BPM is the best conditions because under these conditions was occurred the highest value of yield, quality traits and IWUE soybean and there was significant deference between this case and other treatments. Where, pulse irrigation technique increase from water movement in horizontal direction than vertical direction hence improve from soil moisture distribution and wetted soil volume in root zone and using BPM decrease from evaporation process rate from soil surface hence decreasing of salts accumulation in addition to decreasing of weed growth in the root zone. All traits at AIR on 12 pulses/ day are decreased by increasing of pulses, this may be due to irrigation water was very small with every pulse at AIR on 12 pulses/day in addition increasing the total time of time-off, this mean, un-sufficient application for irrigation water to remove water stress in the root zone.

Model Analysis of the Relationship Between Strategic Organization Knowledge and the Use of Information Systems in Firm Performance in Brazil

Information Technology （IT） consolidates as an essential element to support the business strategies to survive and rapidly adapts to changes in the competitive environment. This paper examines the impact of the use of information systems （IS） and strategic organization knowledge （SOK） on firm performance in 150 Brazilian companies. The study uses partial least squares structural equation modeling （PLS-SEM） and establishes models to express the relationship among the constructs examined. The study identifies that the direct influence of 1S use on performance is moderately significant. However, when mediated by orientation strategy, the total effect of IS use on firm performance is demonstrated to be highly significant. The model explains 54% of the variability of firm performance and confirms IS use as a fundamental resource to support strategic business processes.

Variation in Total Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in Relation to Some Land Use Systems in the Bamenda Highlands, Cameroon

Climate change and food security are among the pressing challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. Soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks, total nitrogen (TN), texture, and bulk density (BD) are important soil properties, which control climate change. Three land use systems (smallholder farmlands, grazing lands, and forest lands) that coexist in the Bamenda Highlands (BH) influence ecosystem services and induce soil degradation with the loss of SOC. The objective of this study was to evaluate the variation of SOC and some soil physicochemical properties as affected by the three land use systems (LUS). A total of 21 composite soil samples collected from 7 microclimatic zones of BH following “S” shape plots to the depth of 0 - 30 cm, were analysed for moisture content (MC), SOC, TN, BD, available phosphorus (Av.P), pH and texture. The results revealed that grazing land had the lowest mean sand content (40.79 ± 4.07). Mean MC, TN and SOC (%) content were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in forest land than those in the grazing land and smallholder farmlands. Conversely, BD and Av.P were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in smallholder farmlands than grazing and forest lands probably due to different litter accumulation and agricultural practices. Moisture content and TN revealed positive significant correlations (p < 0.05) with SOC, while BD and Av.P revealed negative significant correlations (p < 0.05). Mean SOC density in smallholder farmlands (132.91 ± 9.48 tC/ha) was the lowest among the three land use types. Losses in CO2 equivalence, as a result of land use change from forest lands to smallholder farmlands were 137.33 t/ha while that from grazing lands to smallholder farmlands were 109.13 t/ha. Total organic carbon (TOC) stocks differed significantly (p < 0.05) from smallholder farmlands (10.73 Mt) to forest lands (91.13 Mt). A sustainable farming technique that enhances SOC sequestration and minimizes soil CO2 emissions is therefore recommended to replace tillage ridges formation commonly practiced by smallholder farmers.

Evolution process of rock mass engineering system using systems science

The rock mass engineering system （RMES） basically consists ofrock mass engineering （RME）, water system and surroundingecological environments, etc. The RMES is characterized by nonlinearity,occurrence of chaos and self-organization （Tazaka, 1998;Tsuda, 1998; Kishida, 2000）. From construction to abandonmentof RME, the RMES will experience four stages, i.e. initial phase,development phase, declining phase and failure phase. In thiscircumstance, the RMES boundary conditions, structural safetyand surrounding environments are varied at each phase, so arethe evolution characteristics and disasters （Wang et al., 2014）.

Changes in Land Use, Socioeconomic Indices, and the Transportation System in Gifu City and their Relevance during the Late 20th Century

History provides valuable lessons for the interplay of factors that shape urban growth and development. This study examines changes in land use, socioeconomic indices, and the transportation system of Gifu City during the late 20th century using geographical information system (GIS) methods. The data for the study were historical maps and the population census and economic statistics data from 1950 to 2000, when Japan was in a period of high economic growth. The discussion focuses on the master plan, road construction, land use, the spatial distribution of the population, and socioeconomic indices. It was possible to compare spatial distribution patterns over time using GIS. When policies were created that attached importance to construction of a road network due to the development of motorization and elimination of the city tram, the surrounding suburban area became the focus of land-use development. As a result, Gifu City is plagued by the doughnut phenomenon. It is important to identify the relationships among urban planning factors to provide for future urban and transportation planning.

Land use planning, sustainable food production and rural development: A literature analysis

In many countries agricultural land is a scarce resource, either due to natural conditions or because of competition over land. An increased need for food globally, changing environmental conditions and increased demand for environmentally sound agriculture and food systems, all require better integration of planning for rural land use and food production. A literature analysis was conducted including coding of 76 papers, to answer the question on how and to what extent, literature addresses the integration of land use policy and planning, and food system planning, in the context of sustainable rural development and agri-food production. The results indicate that land use and food system planning co-occur in literature, yet lacking the perspective of sustainable rural development, suggesting that integrated planning for sustainable rural land use and food systems needs to be strengthened. Food system research has largely focused on availability and access, or what can be associated with consumers, rather than rural land use. Likewise, the inclusion of food systems is neither common in rural land use planning nor in agricultural policies. Holistic planning for a sustainable food system may be suffering from a disjointed approach, e.g., planning for farmland may not have any links to planning for accessibility, consumer preferences or food marketing. Increased cooperation between stakeholders is necessary to break down the silos in the food system. Policies and plans for rural land use and agri-food production should be coordinated for the common goal of sustainability.

Improving the efficiency of transport systems using simulation

The article describes the possibilities of application of simulation modeling for the analysis of infrastructure and technology of transport services of enterprises. The main technological and possible economic effects for the enterprises arising at performance of modeling of a transport component of their work are resulted.

An Analysis of Mutual Interference in Radar Systems Using Dual-Band (Ka / X) Antennas

An analysis of mutual interfering sources on RF systems using dual-band (Ka / X) radar is presented. The purpose of this paper is to improve operational performance of the system from the point of view of EMC design. The experimental dual-band antenna system have decreased the disturbing effects of most mutual interfering sources.

Spatial Management of Distributed Social Systems

The paper describes the use of invented,developed,and tested in different countries of the high-level spatial grasp model and technology capable of solving important problems in large social systems,which may be represented as dynamic,self-evolving and distributed social networks.The approach allows us to find important solutions on a holistic level by spatial navigation and parallel pattern matching of social networks with active self-propagating scenarios represented in a special recursive language.This approach effectively hides inside the distributed and networked language implementation traditional system management routines,often providing hundreds of times shorter and simpler high-level solution code.The paper highlights the demands to efficient simulation of social systems,briefs the technology used,and provides some programming examples for solutions of practical problems.

Quality Requirements for Multimedia Interactive Informative Systems

Multimedia Interactive Informative Systems (MIIS) are software applications resulting from the convergence of multiples technologies such as audiovisual, computing and communication. They aim to transmit information to a large, diverse and dispersed public. As with other mass media, the fulfillment of MIIS goals depends largely on the quality of communication between the system and end users. Therefore, those systems should be developed in order to ensure that this quality requirement is satisfied. If MIIS are constructed according to usual software engineering practices, the analysis discipline of the development process includes requirements identification and specification;however, these techniques are focused on functional requirements, and they do not give much importance to non-functional requirements. In this paper, we propose a development process based on the production of videogames which has two different phases: preproduction and production. The first phase, corresponding to requirements identification, derives into the concept of system. In order to translate this concept into a specification, we propose the use of new communicational attributes and a MIIS metamodel. The establishment of MIIS non-functional specification is the result of analyzing class diagrams through quality attributes. In order to evaluate if the specifications are responding to communicational attributes, a functional prototype is built and evaluated with end users. The proposed methodology is applied to a real case study.

Analogous Systems Principles and Concepts of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Congruence Couple Therapy

This article explicates the analogous principles and concepts between traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)and congruence couple therapy(CCT).Although originating out of vastly different times and places,TCM and CCT share a view of health based on systems understanding to facilitate the interconnections of the parts of an organism rather than focusing on eliminating symptoms.Both approaches aim to release Qi(气)and vitality by removing blockages through adjusting the interactions,adaptation,and balance of multiple elements and Yin‑Yang energies.The goal is to liberate the Qi or life force through improved holistic balance and cooperation.While TCM focuses on interventions at the level of the body,CCT focuses on the attention,awareness,acknowledgement,and alignment of the four human dimensions consisting of the intrapsychic,interpersonal,intergenerational,and universal‑spiritual.In light of the current trend toward increasing mental,substance use,and neurological disorders,in particular among countries of middle and low income,dialogue to explore these compatibilities between TCM and CCT is conducive to the continuous evolution of TCM and Western therapies to address not only physical health but also the exigencies of contemporary addiction and mental health care within a mind–body relationship matrix.

Technology Acceptance Factors for Implementing the E-Government Systems in Saudi Arabia

Governments are implementing E-Government systems to match the other services due to the rapid worldwide development. Therefore, public sectors interact with many individuals;utilizing this technology lowers costs, enhances services, boosts efficiency, and saves time. The Government of Saudi Arabia has had various obstacles in serving its populace. Poor service delivery and excessive Government operating costs resulted from this manual service delivery. As a result, the Government launched the E-Government systems, which provide services more quickly. As a result, the report covered Saudi Arabia’s efforts to adopt E-Government, its difficulties, and its objectives to advance the 2030 vision. This study examined the adoption of E-Government systems using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) in Saudi Arabia. A sample size of 200 was estimated using the Convenience approach and received 58% of the response from employees and end-users of the E-Government systems. Data were analyzed using MS-Excel and SMART PLS for testing the hypothesis and applying the Partial Least Square approach. The results of the hypothesis testing reveal several meaningful relationships, including relative benefits, compatibility, security, management support, performance expectations, perceived Usefulness of E-Government, ease of use by reducing uncertainty to E-Government, and IT infrastructure by reducing language on E-Government adoption.

基于机器视觉的堆叠货箱抓取系统设计

针对冷链运输领域自动化水平低的问题,设计一套基于机器视觉的堆叠货箱抓取系统。基于Matlab标定工具完成相机标定,得到坐标系转换数学模型,使用改进Canny边缘检测算法提取图像中堆叠货箱的位置信息,通过PLC控制卸货机器人按照既定程序实现对冷链集装箱中堆叠货箱的抓取作业。实验结果表明:图像处理时间小于2 ms,抓取效率可达5 s/件,抓取位置误差小于5 mm,完全满足工业生产要求。