Science Cultivating Practice

Science Cultivating Practice
Author: H. Maat
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 253
Release: 2013-04-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 9401729549

Science Cultivating Practice is an institutional history of agricultural science in the Netherlands and its overseas territories. The focus of this study is the variety of views about a proper relationship between science and (agricultural) practice. Such views and plans materialised in the overall organisation of research and education. Moreover, the book provides case studies of genetics and plant breeding in the Netherlands, colonial rice breeding, and agricultural statistics. Ideas affected the organisation as much as the other way round. The net result was an institutional development in which the values of academic science were rated higher than the values of practice. This book is a distinctive piece of work as it treats the dynamics of science in a European as well as in a colonial context. These different ecological and social environments lead to other forms of knowledge and experimentation as well as other ways of organising science.

Cultivating Communities of Practice

Cultivating Communities of Practice
Author: Etienne Wenger
Publisher: Harvard Business Press
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2002
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1578513308

Today's marketplace is fueled by knowledge. Yet organizing systematically to leverage knowledge remains a challenge. Leading companies have discovered that technology is not enough, and that cultivating communities of practice is the keystone of an effective knowledge strategy. Communities of practice come together around common interests and expertise- whether they consist of first-line managers or customer service representatives, neurosurgeons or software programmers, city managers or home-improvement amateurs. They create, share, and apply knowledge within and across the boundaries of teams, business units, and even entire companies-providing a concrete path toward creating a true knowledge organization. In Cultivating Communities of Practice, Etienne Wenger, Richard McDermott, and William M. Snyder argue that while communities form naturally, organizations need to become more proactive and systematic about developing and integrating them into their strategy. This book provides practical models and methods for stewarding these communities to reach their full potential-without squelching the inner drive that makes them so valuable. Through in-depth cases from firms such as DaimlerChrysler, McKinsey & Company, Shell, and the World Bank, the authors demonstrate how communities of practice can be leveraged to drive overall company strategy, generate new business opportunities, tie personal development to corporate goals, transfer best practices, and recruit and retain top talent. They define the unique features of these communities and outline principles for nurturing their essential elements. They provide guidelines to support communities of practice through their major stages of development, address the potential downsides of communities, and discuss the specific challenges of distributed communities. And they show how to recognize the value created by communities of practice and how to build a corporate knowledge strategy around them. Essential reading for any leader in today's knowledge economy, this is the definitive guide to developing communities of practice for the benefit-and long-term success-of organizations and the individuals who work in them. Etienne Wenger is a renowned expert and consultant on knowledge management and communities of practice in San Juan, California. Richard McDermott is a leading expert of organization and community development in Boulder, Colorado. William M. Snyder is a founding partner of Social Capital Group, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The Practical Science of Planting Trees

The Practical Science of Planting Trees
Author: Gary W. Watson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2013
Genre: Tree planting
ISBN: 9781881956730

"Since 1943, the International Society of Arboriculture has been publishing books that have documented changes in tree planting practices over the decades. This comprehensive volume is an up-to-date synthesis of the research devoted to planting urban trees. Anyone interested in planting trees - arborists, landscape professionals, students, researchers, and avid gardeners - will find this book to be an invaluable resource with an extensive reference list of scientific literature. Designed to help readers understand and implement the appropriate practices vital to planting a tree, it offers guidance to improve success and establish healthy trees that will last a lifetime."--Pub. desc.

Soilless Culture: Theory and Practice

Soilless Culture: Theory and Practice
Author: Michael Raviv
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 625
Release: 2007-12-27
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0080556426

Plant production in hydroponics and soilless culture is rapidly expanding throughout the world, raising a great interest in the scientific community. For the first time in an authoritative reference book, authors cover both theoretical and practical aspects of hydroponics (growing plants without the use of soil). This reference book covers the state-of-the-art in this area, while offering a clear view of supplying plants with nutrients other than soil. Soilless Culture provides the reader with an understanding of the properties of the various soiless media and how these properties affect plant performance in relation to basic horticultural operations, such as irrigation and fertilization. This book is ideal for agronomists, horticulturalists, greenhouse and nursery managers, extension specialists, and people involved with the production of plants.* Comprehensive discussion of hydroponic systems, irrigation, and control measures allows readers to achieve optimal performance* State-of-the-art book on all theoretical aspects of hydroponics and soilless culture including a thorough description of the root system, its functions and limitation posed by restricted root volume* Critical and updated reviews of current analytical methods and how to translate their results to irrigation and fertilization practices * Definitive chapters on recycled, no-discharge systems including salinity and nutrition management and pathogen eradication * Up-to-date description of all important types of growing media

Shifting Cultivation and Environmental Change

Shifting Cultivation and Environmental Change
Author: Malcolm F. Cairns
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 1405
Release: 2015-01-09
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1317750187

Shifting cultivation is one of the oldest forms of subsistence agriculture and is still practised by millions of poor people in the tropics. Typically it involves clearing land (often forest) for the growing of crops for a few years, and then moving on to new sites, leaving the earlier ground fallow to regain its soil fertility. This book brings together the best of science and farmer experimentation, vividly illustrating the enormous diversity of shifting cultivation systems as well as the power of human ingenuity. Some critics have tended to disparage shifting cultivation (sometimes called 'swidden cultivation' or 'slash-and-burn agriculture') as unsustainable due to its supposed role in deforestation and land degradation. However, the book shows that such indigenous practices, as they have evolved over time, can be highly adaptive to land and ecology. In contrast, 'scientific' agricultural solutions imposed from outside can be far more damaging to the environment and local communities. The book focuses on successful agricultural strategies of upland farmers, particularly in south and south-east Asia, and presents over 50 contributions by scholars from around the world and from various disciplines, including agricultural economics, ecology and anthropology. It is a sequel to the much praised "Voices from the Forest: Integrating Indigenous Knowledge into Sustainable Upland Farming" (RFF Press, 2007), but all chapters are completely new and there is a greater emphasis on the contemporary challenges of climate change and biodiversity conservation.

Planting Seeds of Knowledge

Planting Seeds of Knowledge
Author: Heinrich Hartmann
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Total Pages: 365
Release: 2023-06-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 1805390112

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, agricultural practices and rural livelihoods were challenged by changes such as commercialization, intensified global trade, and rapid urbanization. Planting Seeds of Knowledge studies the relationship between these agricultural changes and knowledge-making through a transnational lens. Spanning exchanges between different parts of Europe, North and South America, the Indian subcontinent, and Africa, the wide-reaching contributions to this volume reform current historiography to show how local experiences redefined global practice.

Fully Present

Fully Present
Author: Susan L. Smalley
Publisher: Hachette Go
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2022-12-27
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0306829436

“Excellent. Fully Present offers one of the clearest introductions to mindfulness in the field.” —Library Journal Mindfulness has attracted ever‑growing interest and tens of thousands of practitioners, who have come to the discipline from both within and outside the Buddhist tradition. In Fully Present, leading mindfulness researchers and educators Dr. Sue Smalley and Diana Winston provide an all‑in‑one guide for anyone interested in bringing mindfulness to daily life as a means of enhancing well‑being. This new edition, how with a new afterword, provides both a scientific explanation for how mindfulness positively and powerfully affects the brain and the body as well as practical guidance to develop both a practice and mindfulness in daily living, not only through meditation but also during daily experiences. Now, you can wait in line at the supermarket, exercise, or face difficult news with calm and mental fortitude. Ditch the absent-minded lifestyle and begin bringing your full self and your full mind everywhere. With research studies, personal accounts, and practical applications, Fully Present highlights how things like simply breathing, listening, and walking can change your perspective--and your life.

Environments of Empire

Environments of Empire
Author: Ulrike Kirchberger
Publisher: UNC Press Books
Total Pages: 279
Release: 2020-02-14
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1469655942

The age of European high imperialism was characterized by the movement of plants and animals on a historically unprecedented scale. The human migrants who colonized territories around the world brought a variety of other species with them, from the crops and livestock they hoped to propagate, to the parasites, invasive plants, and pests they carried unawares, producing a host of unintended consequences that reshaped landscapes around the world. While the majority of histories about the dynamics of these transfers have concentrated on the British Empire, these nine case studies--focused on the Ottoman, French, Dutch, German, and British empires--seek to advance a historical analysis that is comparative, transnational, and interdisciplinary to understand the causes, consequences, and networks of biological exchange and ecological change resulting from imperialism. Contributors: Brett M. Bennett, Semih Celik, Nicole Chalmer, Jodi Frawley, Ulrike Kirchberger, Carey McCormack, Idir Ouahes, Florian Wagner, Samuel Eleazar Wendt, Alexander van Wickeren, Stephanie Zehnle

Fruit Crops Cultivation Practices And Economics

Fruit Crops Cultivation Practices And Economics
Author: Parshant Bakshi
Publisher: New India Publishing Agency
Total Pages: 4
Release: 2021-02-26
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9387973212

Prosperity through fruit cultivation is the new slogan gaining much acceptance among policy makers. Presently, fruit culture has established its credibility in improving income through increased productivity, generating employment and enhancing export. The focused attention on investment in fruit production during the last decade has been rewarding in terms of increased production and productivity of fruits. India has emerged as second largest producer of fruits in the world. It has diverse climates and soil for cultivation of fruit crops providing ample opportunities for the development of fruit industry but the greatest challenge in present is to produce sufficient fruit to feed the ever-increasing human population. This demands infusion of technology for an efficient utilization of resources for deriving higher output per unit of input with excellent quality of the produce within short span of time. In the present era of open economy, it has become increasingly necessary that our produce is competitive, both in the domestic as well as in international markets. This would be possible only through deployment of high-tech application and precision farming methods. Fruits are very important for human beings and also play an important role in religious practices, mythology and art. They are not only delicious but also have many nutrients which are necessary for human health. Fruit production requires a lot of science and some basic fundamental knowledge to grow them successfully. This book compiles many fundamental issues of fruit production like layout and planting, many cultural practices, growth and bearing habits of fruit crops, planting and propagation method, disease and pest management as well as cost of cultivation etc. Understanding of all these topics will help the students and fruit growers for proper knowledge of fundamentals of fruit production. We hope that this book would also be helpful for fruit growers, nurserymen, farmers, teachers, scientists, extension officers and all those who wish to become familiar with the topic in relation to their professional interest. We have tried to keep the language as simple and straight forward as possible and consistent with accurate representation of the content. Every effort has been made to present the ideas in very easy and understandable language and the interests of each reader. We would like to recommend "Fruit Crops: Cultivation Practices and Economics" to students, educators, researchers, extension specialists and orchard practitioners for cultivation practices of fruit crops and their economics.

The Oxford Handbook of Agricultural History

The Oxford Handbook of Agricultural History
Author: Jeannie Whayne
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 673
Release: 2024-02-08
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0190924160

Agricultural history has enjoyed a rebirth in recent years, in part because the agricultural enterprise promotes economic and cultural connections in an era that has become ever more globally focused, but also because of agriculture's potential to lead to conflicts over precious resources. The Oxford Handbook of Agricultural History reflects this rebirth and examines the wide-reaching implications of agricultural issues, featuring essays that touch on the green revolution, the development of the Atlantic slave plantation, the agricultural impact of the American Civil War, the rise of scientific and corporate agriculture, and modern exploitation of agricultural labor.