• Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.58-84
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• 2017

This article aims at demonstrating location specific approach for agricultural technology promotion and adoption in improving the livelihood of the small farmers in the haor basin and coastal belt of Bangladesh. Innovative technologies that have potentials are initially screened by ex-ante investigation and instrumented by the business model canvas, which is used as a bottom-up approach for sustainability of the adoption of proposed technology innovations. Village-level extension farmers, sub-district extension officers and farmers' cooperative are the unique and central features to the business models and forward linkages. Extension service, power tiller, low-lift pump, sunflower, shallow tube well, quality seed, forward linkage for farmed duck eggs, live ducks and open catch fish etc. are the suggested potential technology innovations for the small farmers. The technology adoption business model can be reinvented for different locations within or beyond the country considering the local agricultural problems and prospects for greater sustainability.

• Water Engineering Research
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.163-176
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• 2002

In this study, laboratory experiments have been performed to investigate characteristics of the velocity fields and turbulence for non-buoyant plane jet in the vicinity of the jet nozzle using PIV system. The experimental results show that, in the transition region, the lateral velocity profile is in good agreement with Gaussian distribution. However, the coefficient of Gaussian distribution, $\K_{u,}$, decreases with longitudinal distance in the transition region. The existing theoretical equation for the centerline velocity tends to overestimate the measured data in the transition region. A new equation for the centerline velocity derived by incorporating varying $k_{u}$ gives better agreement with the measured data than the previous equation. The results of the turbulence characteristics show peak values are concentrated on the shear layers. The Reynolds shear stress profile shows the positive peak in the upper layer and negative peak in the lower layer. The turbulent kinetic energy also provides double peaks at the shear layers. The peak of the Reynolds shear stress and the turbulent kinetic energy increases until x/B=8, and then it decreases afterwards.s.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.31
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• pp.6.1-6.10
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• 2016

Objectives This study examined the spatial distribution and the extent of soil contamination by heavy metals resulting from primitive, unconventional informal electronic waste recycling in the Agbogbloshie e-waste processing site (AEPS) in Ghana. Methods A total of 132 samples were collected at 100 m intervals, with a handheld global position system used in taking the location data of the soil sample points. Observing all procedural and quality assurance measures, the samples were analyzed for barium (Ba), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn), using X-ray fluorescence. Using environmental risk indices of contamination factor and degree of contamination ($C_{deg}$), we analyzed the individual contribution of each heavy metal contamination and the overall $C_{deg}$. We further used geostatistical techniques of spatial autocorrelation and variability to examine spatial distribution and extent of heavy metal contamination. Results Results from soil analysis showed that heavy metal concentrations were significantly higher than the Canadian Environmental Protection Agency and Dutch environmental standards. In an increasing order, Pb>Cd>Hg>Cu>Zn>Cr>Co>Ba>Ni contributed significantly to the overall $C_{deg}$. Contamination was highest in the main working areas of burning and dismantling sites, indicating the influence of recycling activities. Geostatistical analysis also revealed that heavy metal contamination spreads beyond the main working areas to residential, recreational, farming, and commercial areas. Conclusions Our results show that the studied heavy metals are ubiquitous within AEPS and the significantly high concentration of these metals reflect the contamination factor and $C_{deg}$, indicating soil contamination in AEPS with the nine heavy metals studied.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.40 no.2 s.107
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• pp.221-241
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• 2005

Land Use and Land Cover Changes (LUCC) occur over a wide range of space and time scales, and involve complex natural, socio-economic, and institutional processes. Therefore, modelling and predicting LUCC demands an understanding of how various measured properties behave when considered at different scales. Understanding spatial and temporal variability of driving forces and constraints on LUCC is central to understanding the scaling issues. This paper aims to 1) assess the heterogeneity of land cover change processes over the landscape in northern Ghana, where intensification of agricultural activities has been the dominant land cover change process during the past 15 years, 2) characterise dominant land cover change mechanisms for various spatial scales, and 3) identify the optimal spatial scale for LUCC modelling in a savanna landscape. A multivariate statistical method was first applied to identify land cover change intensity (LCCI), using four time-sequenced NDVI images derived from LANDSAT scenes. Three proxy land use change predictors: distance from roads, distance from surface water bodies, and a terrain characterisation index, were regressed against the LCCI using a multi-scale hierarchical adaptive model to identify scale dependency and spatial heterogeneity of LUCC processes. High spatial associations between the LCCI and land use change predictors were mostly limited to moving windows smaller than 10$\times$10km. With increasing window size, LUCC processes within the window tend to be too diverse to establish clear trends, because changes in one part of the window are compensated elsewhere. This results in a reduced correlation between LCCI and land use change predictors at a coarser spatial extent. The spatial coverage of 5-l0km is incidentally equivalent to a village or community area in the study region. In order to reduce spatial variability of land use change processes for regional or national level LUCC modelling, we suggest that the village level is the optimal spatial investigation unit in this savanna landscape.