Environment In Rural Areas Research Articles

Test-retest reliability of a self-reported physical activity environment instrument for use in rural settings.

Little is known about how the physical environment impacts physical activity behaviour among rural populations, who are typically less active and at higher risk of chronic disease than urban dwellers. The lack of individual-level instruments to assess the physical environment in rural areas limits advancement of this field. Among rural adults, this study aimed to evaluate (a) the test-retest reliability of a self-reported questionnaire of individual-level perceptions of the physical activity environment, and (b) the stability of a self-reported physical activity questionnaire. Cross-sectional questionnaire repeated twice, 2weeks apart. The questionnaire included 94 items relating to the perceived physical environment (representing nine summary scores), demographic characteristics and physical activity. Rural Australia. Rurally residing adults (≥18years) across three Australian states. Test-retest reliability evaluated by weighted Kappa statistics (individual items) and intra-class correlations (summary scores). A total of 292 participants (20% men) completed both questionnaires, on average 22days apart. Test-retest reliability of individual items ranged from weighted Kappa 0.37-0.85 (median: 0.59). Internal reliability for five summary scores was good to excellent (Cronbach's alpha: 0.81-0.97). Test-retest reliability was good to excellent for six summary scores (intra-class correlations: 0.67-0.77). The findings indicated good to excellent test-retest reliability for most items, particularly "fixed" constructs for this new questionnaire measuring the perceived physical environment in rural populations. This study represents an important step towards improving measurement of physical activity environments in rural populations, potentially leading to better tailored interventions to promote active and healthy living in rural areas.

Attitudes and opinions of farmers in the context of environmental protection in rural areas in Poland

This paper presents results of questionnaire surveys regarding the state of the natural environment in rural areas. The research was conducted on a sample of 1101 agricultural holdings in Poland. According to the analyses, agricultural producers are aware of environmental threats posed by irrational agricultural economy. Most respondents indicated the responsibility of farmers and other residents of rural areas as a basic condition for broadly understood environmental safety in rural areas in Poland. In the opinion of respondents, systems and programs for funding the replacement of heating boilers, thermomodernization of buildings, etc., are also important. There were significant differences in farmers’ declarations, taking into account the age and level of education of the respondents, as well as features of agricultural holdings (area and economic size of the agricultural holding).

Integrated assessment of the environmental and economic effects of "coal-to-gas conversion" project in rural areas of northern China.

Northern China suffers from serious air pollution especially in winter, much of which derives from solid fuel used for domestic heating in rural areas. In order to reduce pollution emissions in the heating season, the Chinese government has introduced a "coal-to-gas conversion" policy, promoting a switch to natural gas which is much cleaner than the coal normally used for winter heating. The "coal-to-gas conversion" project will cover more than 1.8 billion m2 of heated built floor area and affect more than 12 million heat users in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, and the surrounding areas. Life cycle assessment and life cycle cost methods are applied to compare and analyze the environmental impact and economic cost of household energy usage for the whole year under 5 scenarios before and after "coal-to-gas conversion." In the three scenarios after "coal-to-gas conversion," the environmental impact decreases by around 50% while the total economic cost increases by around 80%. Particulate emissions responsible for air pollution are considerably reduced with accompanying benefits for human health, though significant, but reduced, impacts on freshwater and marine ecotoxicity remain. Improving thermal efficiency through natural gas utilization, implementing an energy-saving retrofit of rural housing, and promoting straw utilization yield benefits for people and the environment in rural areas of northern China.

The development level and economic efficiency of vegetable production in the Krasnoyarsk region

The problem of increasing the development level of vegetable subcomplex is considered in the presented work. The conducted research testifies to reduction of manufacture volumes in vegetable production and, as a consequence, dissatisfaction of the population demand. Particular attention should be paid to the fact that by category of farms the greatest reduction is observed in the sector of personal subsidiary production, although it is the main supplier of vegetable products. In order to change this situation, it is proposed to create a wholesale and distribution center on a cooperative basis. Its formation will not only create conditions for the effective supply of vegetable products to the population of the region, but will enable the organization of a favorable social environment in rural areas.

Evaluación de la implementación de la estrategia escuela saludable en zona rural de Ibagué: estudio de casos.

La escuela es un espacio privilegiado de promoción de la salud, en Colombia se desarrolla la estrategia escuela saludable como una herramienta integradora de políticas en salud en el ámbito escolar. Objetivo: el estudio busca evaluar la implementación de la estrategia escuela saludable en el contexto rural del municipio de Ibagué. Materiales y métodos: la evaluación de la implementación se realizó mediante la construcción de un modelo lógico y la definición de criterios evaluativos en relación con los ambientes saludables, las políticas públicas y planes para la escuela saludable, la participación social, el empoderamiento y la educación para la salud. Se evaluaron un total de 93 escuelas rurales, la información fue levantada mediante cuestionarios a los responsables de las escuelas y a través de entrevistas a los gestores de salud. Resultados: se identificaron problemáticas sanitarias y ambientales en las escuelas asociadas a las carencias de la ruralidad, falta de articulación del sector salud y educación, baja participación social, la educación enfocada a la prevención de la enfermedad. Conclusión: promover los entornos escolares saludables en la ruralidad requiere de un marco legal nacional y local que garantice la actuación estatal, la intersectorial, la participación efectiva del sector educativo, la renovación de la salud y que promueva intereses y voluntades político, sociales y administrativas.

Impact of Culture on Rural Built Environment

The term “built environment” refers to the human made or modified physical surroundings in which people live, work and play. These places and spaces include our homes, communities, schools, workplaces, parks/recreations areas, business areas and transportation systems, and vary in size from large-scale urban areas to smaller rural developments. Based on human activities, the environment was created to obtain the basic needs of people. The regular human activities for many generations to prepare their needs are considered as culture. Hence based on culture, the environment was built and maintained for future generation. Regions are separated into two types based on production occurs in rural area and trading developed in urban. In olden days, most of the places are rural because of the undevelopment in transport system. The activities involved in preparing food, shelter and other needs are the common factors to build rural environment. Natural resources are the basic factor that decides the build environment and culture of human in rural regions. By analyzing the natural resources, the cultural impacts are determined based on building environment in rural areas

Research Status and Development Trend of Solar Heating Technology

As one of the renewable green energy sources, solar energy has great advantages in energy conservation and environmental protection. With the deepening of the research on solar heating technology, more issues have been discussed. This paper summarizes the research status of solar heating technology from two aspects of solar energy heat collection and heating implementation. Firstly, heat collection technology is still the key to solar energy heat utilization, which focuses on the numerical simulation of heat collector and the influence of heat collection structure on heat collection capacity. Secondly, thermodynamic analysis of heat transfer enhancement of ventilation gap and air flow in passive solar heating system is a hot topic; some scholars even put forward new heat transfer theoretical models and improved equations. Whereas in the active solar heating system, due to the imbalance and instability of solar energy, most of the research focuses on the construction of multiple complementary heating system and the corresponding optimal operation mechanism as well as the study of solar energy heat storage materials, devices and their heat storage performance. Thirdly, in view of the actual building environment in rural areas of northern China, it is proposed that using distributed solar energy collection method combined with heat storage technology and using green energy internet to distribute heat energy is the research trend of maximizing the application of solar heating in the region.

Trypanosoma cruzi circulating among dogs and triatomines in the endemic countryside of the State of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

Vector transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi occurs in several areas of Brazil, including the northeastern region, and domestic animals can serve as reservoirs of the parasite. The aim of this study was to monitor dogs as domestic reservoirs for infection by T. cruzi, and the main triatomine species involved in parasite transmission in rural areas of municipalities in the State of Rio Grande do Norte, in northeastern, Brazil. Blood samples from dogs (n = 40) and manual triatomine capture were performed in domiciliary and peridomiciliary environments in rural areas of the towns of Acari, Caraúbas and Marcelino Vieira, between 2013 and 2016. Subsequently, infection of dogs was determined by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) for the detection of IgM and IgG isotypes and Indirect Immunofluorescence (IIF) reactions for detection of IgG. Triatomine infection was determined by PCR. Forty (16/40) percent of the dogs were seropositive for T. cruzi; 20.0% (8/40) of such reactivity indicated the acute phase, and 20.0% (8/40), the chronic phase. PCR was positive in 42.5% (17/40) of the dogs’ blood samples. Specimens of Triatoma brasiliensis, Triatoma pseudomaculata, Rhodnius nasutus and Panstrongylus lutzi were found to be infected; however only T. brasiliensis nymphs and adults were infected in both environments. Triatomines evaluation showed 82.5% (94/114) of PCR positivity. Taken together, our results confirm that dogs are domestic reservoirs of T. cruzi in northeastern Brazil and T. brasiliensis is the main triatomine species correlated with parasite transmission in domiciliary environments. There is a continuing need to control peridomiciliary populations of triatomines and to implement continuous surveillance strategies for reservoirs with the help from the community.

Agritourism-A Sustainable Development Factor for Improving the ‘Health’ of Rural Settlements. Case Study Apuseni Mountains Area

Agritourism is a complex activity, a chance maybe today to ensure both human health and the “health” of the environment and rural settlements in order to achieve a most wanted desideratum, the sustainability of the rural environment. The idea of this paper starts from the trend of the current period, meaning the strong emphasis on natural, organic, bio, in all human activities, health and environment, in a word, sustainability. The necessity of implementing the sustainability of activities, health and environment in rural areas, taking into account the agritourism field, was a subject pursued in the study, taking as area of study the mountainous rural environment, the reason of this choice deriving from the fact that the mountain area offers great opportunities for agritourism development, the practice of which is even necessary in the current period. The sustainability of agritourism on rural health and environment cannot be dissociated from the economic, social and cultural life of the community in which it manifests itself, and has a multiplier effect on all the domains with which it interacts. So the purpose of the paper is to follow the development of the agritourism field and, based on some present information, to make a future forecast for some specific indicators, to highlight the representative aspects related to the development and capitalization of guesthouses from a rural mountain environment through agritourism and to come up with a forecast for future transformations that need to take place in the studied area in order to support the sustainable development of the human environment through agritourism.

Abandoned rural residential land: Using machine learning techniques to identify rural residential land vulnerable to be abandoned in mountainous areas

Rural residential land has been increasingly abandoned in China given the rapid and massive rural-to-urban migration. From the aspect of land-use planning and policy making, it is important to understand the determinants of residential land abandonment across rural areas as well as to know what rural residential land is vulnerable to be abandoned. However, neither of these can be known via qualitative evaluation of residential land abandonment or via remote sensing applications and land-use modelling. In this study, we develop an approach of combining machine learning techniques (Random Forest, Supported Vector Machine, and Naive Bayes) and land-as-an-object analysis to identify the rural residential land that has a high possibility of being abandoned in mountainous areas. We applied this approach to Fang County, Central China. The results indicate a reasonable and reliable prediction of rural residential land abandonment based on our approach, particularly in estimating the potential occurrence of local land abandonment. The geographic characteristics of the land and the living conditions of the land user were found to have relatively significant impacts on rural residential land use. Our approach also provides a pathway to evaluate specific land use and identify its potential change. This approach can be useful for the development of a standardized protocol for the evaluation of residential land abandonment across other rural areas and may be applicable for the investigation of other land types that may be vulnerable to abandonment. Quantitatively assessing the influential factors of residential land use can also provide alternative insights for the development of planning protocols in order to ultimately improve the quality of life and living environments in rural areas.

The Role of Union Digital Centre to Ensure People's Participation at SylhetSadar, Bangladesh

E- Governance is increasing for smooth governmental services. Rural people are deprived to get information’s lack of proper materials. So, Bangladesh Government have taken an initiatives about to reach information’s all over the country since 2010. An UDC has two entrepreneurs whose are recruited by local representatives with a little requirement. In rural areas, people have little knowledge of ICT tools. For this reason, they can get information which is related to them by reaching on UDC. We want to know ensuring the participation on UDC at sylhet sadar. We selected this area because there have environment in rural areas. People are come there for issuing their birth registration and various programs. This study can help us to identify about the scenario of UDC. UDC can render their services by using effective internet tools. This study carries the perceptions of beneficiaries as well as entrepreneurs.

Фактори влияещи на нагласите на фермерите в България – агроекологични публични блага за намаляване на риска от наводнения

The study examines several factors affecting the adoption behaviour of farmers in Bulgaria for provision of agrienvironment measures. Recently, research interest focuses on how agriculture can provide ecosystem services and public goods. The role of the Common Agricultural Policy has been also studied for creating economic incentives for that matter. Provision of agri-environment public goods from agricultural ecosystems raises many practical and theoretical questions mainly due to the nature of public goods and ecosystem functioning. However, the role of farmers as main actors in taking care for the environment in rural areas has been focusing the attention of researchers on examining the factors that affect the uptake of conservation measures. The study analyses the behaviour of 77 farmers in Iskar River Basin in Bulgaria for three measures – buffer strips, crop rotation and grasslands. A logit model was used covering socioeconomic factors, environmental awareness, characteristics of the agri-environment schemes and information provision. As a result, land tenure, environmental awareness and clarity about the scheme requirements appear to be the significant factors affecting adoption.

Call for papers special issue: The risk environment in rural areas

Call for papers special issue: The risk environment in rural areas

Kompleksowa ocena stanu środowiska na terenach wiejskich powiatów województwa mazowieckiego

Celem artykułu jest dokonanie oceny stanu środowiska na terenach wiejskich powiatów województwa mazowieckiego, ponieważ wynik tej oceny jest bardzo pomocny przy wyznaczania kierunków rozwoju i zagospodarowania przestrzennego poszczególnych powiatów i gmin, a także dla inwestorów indywidualnych, szczególnie tych, którzy są zainteresowani turystyką, rekreacją i mieszkalnictwem. Do wykonania takiej oceny wykorzystano 7 wskaźników: ogólne obciążenie środowiska przez stałych mieszkańców, zachowanie szaty roślinnej w formie zbliżonej do naturalnej, zróżnicowanie form użytkowania gruntów, powierzchnię i charakter obszarów chronionych, obciążenie odpadami komunalnymi, obciążenie ściekami bytowymi, stan powietrza atmosferycznego. Obliczenie poszczególnych wskaźników jest dokonywane na podstawie danych liczbowych, pochodzących z Banku Danych Lokalnych GUS lub z programu EMEP. Wartości wskaźników są poddane standaryzacji w skali od 0 do 10, a następnie uśredniane dla poszczególnych powiatów. Wyniki przeprowadzonej analizy pokazują, że stan środowiska w powiatach województwa mazowieckiego jest bardzo zróżnicowany, z wyjątkiem stanu powietrza atmosferycznego. W zakresie każdej z pozostałych 6 cech występują powiaty zarówno o bardzo dobrej, jak i złej ocenie. Uśrednione oceny dla poszczególnych powiatów pokazały, że ogólny stan środowiska w żadnym z powiatów województwa mazowieckiego nie był korzystny na tle sytuacji w Polsce w 2006 roku.

La Biblioteca Membrado: lecturas de una familia bajoaragonesa en el siglo XVIII y primera mitad del XIX

Successive generations of the Membrado, a landed family from the Bajoaragonese town of Belmonte established a library that currently holds 106 titles. This article carries out its cataloguing and analysis. On the one hand, its configuration process throughout the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century is revised, focusing on the ways the ways the books were obtained or their provenance, and also examines some reading practices, as well as their intentionality. On the other hand, the present subjects are classified and reviewed, pointing out a cycle of readings from the learning of the first letters to the ecclesiastical or legal studies together with later books dedicated to leisure and professional or practical purposes. This morphology and other material aspects (authors, editing places, languages, formats) reveal the mental universe of its readers, provide data on a scholarly environment in rural areas at that time and highlight the value of the book in personal formation and social promotion.

UTILIZING A WEBSITE TO INCREASE EDUCATION QUALITY AWARENESS IN WEST KALIMANTAN RURAL VILLAGES

Education already become a basic human right since they were born. But geographical condition differentiates the level of education quality they get. Especially in most development countries with low implementation of ICT (Information, Communication, and Technology). In this digital era, it is hard to achieve an effective and efficient learning environment in rural areas. Infrastructures and teaching tools in those areas are very humble. Few books can be read. With limited educational background, social-economy issues will always keep remain. Love Borneo is an organic community that want to make a change for children in rural villages in West Kalimantan. They build a facility called Rumah Baca that provide good quality books suitable for children. They collect donated books and some money to buy books and educational games for children. Since 2015, they already build 10 Rumah Baca. But there are still so many villages that need this kind of facility. To build awareness about education for children in rural villages, this article discusses the development of a dedicated website called www.loveborneo.org that provides up to date information about this community and their activities. People around the world can access this website and can officially support this community. www.loveborneo.org is only one example of ICT implementation to help rural citizens.

Evaluation of Regional Rural Information Environment Based on Fuzzy Method in the Era of the Internet of Things

Internet of Things technology has brought new opportunities for rural informatization. The quality of rural information environment is directly related to the level of rural informatization. So accurately understanding the status and level of information environment in rural areas is a prerequisite for rural informatization. This paper assesses differences in rural information environment by developing a framework based on a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method to measure information environment changes. The assessment focuses on three aspects: one is the evaluation of the overall rural information environment based on macro-factors in time dimension, the other is in 31 different provinces in space dimension, and the third is the evaluation of regional rural information environment based on macro-and subjective factors. The Probit model reveals the influence of various factors on the rural information environment, which constitutes the primary and secondary indicators of the evaluation system. The fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method is adopted to evaluate the rural information environment, and the cluster analysis is applied to the results. The results show that the differences in rural information environment exist objectively, which are the result of a variety of subjective and objective factors. In addition, the differences in rural information environment promote the diversified development path of rural information construction. These findings have clear policy implication for the rural ministry, since understanding the changes and differences in the rural information environment is important for their successful development. Results of the experimental applications of this evaluation system are given to illustrate the proposed method.

THE ROLE OF RURAL RENEWAL PROGRAM IN PLANNING OF THE VILLAGE PUBLIC SPACES: SYSTEMATIC APPROACH

The problem of the research – community and municipal institutions in renewal the public space and landscape in rural areas. The aim was to investigate the application of support measures ("small grants") to improve the quality of life of the population and the improvement of the environment in rural areas and to submit proposals for its improvement. The study included an analysis of the "Rural Renewal Programs" in the Warmia and Mazury Region in Poland, in order to assess the progress of the development of rural areas and changes in the quality of life of the population after the realization of such projects. The article presents proposals for the development and harmonization of landscape projects, improvement of evaluation criteria, inclusion of population and better use of assistance.

Planning Rural Greenway : Resource Evaluation and Network Analysis

With the urbanization development in China, natural ecological environment and ecological environments in rural areas have been affected. Therefore, the characteristics and classification of rural greenway were analyzed on the basis of eco economic model theory, the resources of ecological, cultural, recreational and industrial greenway planning were evaluated, and the structure characteristics of rural greenway network are analyzed. A mathematical model of space superposition analysis is constructed. Taking SunYea town of Feixian county in Shandong as the object, starting from the green road network space, greenway system, service facilities, transfer system and identification system and other aspects, the construction of the rural greenway was carefully planned. Practice has proved that rural greenway planning research has improved the scientific nature of the allocation of resources, and has a certain exemplary role for the construction of rural greenway network in similar areas.

Investigating Dairy Farmers′ Resilience under a Transforming Policy and a Market Regime: The Case of North Karelia, Finland

Abstract The European dairy sector is currently facing unprecedented challenges under a transforming policy and a market regime. The expected changes will have relevant consequences for land use, the landscape, and the environment in rural areas dominated by dairy farming. Within this context, the aim of this paper is twofold. First, key characteristics of milk production in the region of North Karelia will be illustrated. Secondly, some light will be shed on dairy farmers′ challenges and adaptations to the dairy sector’s structural changes, and to what extent they contribute to the resilience of agricultural systems. In the light of an evident milk crisis, the findings suggest that farmers′ key challenge is the profitability of running a dairy enterprise. One of the consequences of the poor economic situation is the pressure to make investments in the conditions of a constantly changing policy. Flexibility and the ability to understand future trends are fundamental in adapting to socio-economic changes and unpredictability. Adaptation to unpredictability would not be possible without a key characteristic of farming activity: agriculture is not only a source of an income, but also a way of life, a sense of belonging to the land that significantly affects farmers′ decision-making.