Search for: All records

The donation of unharvested or unsold crops to rescue organizations has been promoted as a strat­egy to improve healthy food access for food inse­cure households while reducing production-level food loss and waste (FLW). In this study, we aimed to assess the motivations, barriers, and facili­tators for crop donation as a FLW reduction strat­egy among Maryland farmers. We interviewed 18 Maryland-based food producers (nine frequent crop donors and nine infrequent, by self-report) in 2016 – 2017, soliciting their perspectives on crop donation motivators, process feasibility, and inte­r­ventions aimed at increasing crop donation. The interviews were thematically coded. All respond­ents were aware of crop donation as an option, and most expressed interest in reducing FLW by divert­ing crop surpluses for human consumption. While financial barriers represented one aspect influenc­ing donation decisions, respondents also cited con­venience, process knowledge, and liability as key considerations. In contrast to frequent donors, many of whom considered donation a moral imperative, some infrequent donors questioned the expectation that they would donate crops without compensation. Both frequent and infrequent donors were aware of pro-donation tax incentives, and infrequent donors reported being unlikely to use them. This research demonstrates that crop donation motivations, barriers, and facilitators can be diverse. Given the existence of crop surpluses and their potential benefits as emergency food, our results suggest that multiple interventions and poli­cies may contribute to incentivizing and facilitating crop donation (or enabling the purchase of surplus crops) rather than one-size-fits-all approaches. Our findings also highlight a need to prioritize crop recovery methods that enhance growers’ financial stability. 

Statistical inference has strongly relied on the use of p-values to draw conclusions. For over a decade this reliance on the p-value has been questioned by researches and academics. The question of whether p-values are truly the best standard, and what other possible statistics could replace p-values l has been discussed deeply. We set out to understand the amount of variation within p-values, and to find if they really are as reliable as the frequency of their use would suggest. To answer this question, we studied a set of clinical trials over the past two years. We also aim to describe the variety of information included in drag labels, and determine whether this information conforms to FDA guidelines. We found a large variation in the presentation of clinical trial data, much of which was not in line with the guidelines of the FDA. Our findings also show that among the clinical trials we studied there is more variation among the p-values than among the estimates. From this, we can conclude that the estimates from clinical trials should hold a heavy weight in the decision of whether or not to approve the drug. This finding suggests that there is validity to the skepticism of the reliance on p-values, and that further studies need to be done to find a new, more reliable, standard in statistical inference. 

Urban development is occurring in many Sub-Saharan Africa cities and rapid urbanization is underway in the East African city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In an effort to address urban poverty and increase homeownership opportunities for low and middle-income residents, the City Administration of Addis Ababa initiated a large-scale housing development project in 2005. The project has resulted in the completion of 175,000 units within the city with 132,000 more under construction. To understand the impacts of both rapid growth and the housing program’s impact on the city’s urban form, we compared the type and distribution of land uses in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, between 2006 with 2016 using hand-digitized, ortho-rectified satellite images in Geographic Information Systems (GISs). While residential density has increased, overall density has decreased from 109 people/ha to 98 people/ha. We found that between 2006 and 2016, land occupied by residential housing increased from 33% to 39% and the proportion of informal housing decreased from 57% to 38%. Reflecting the country’s economic prosperity, there was a dramatic increase in the presence of single family housing, particularly on the city’s western side. In 2006, only 1% of residential areas were occupied by high-rise condominiums (4 floors or greater) and this increased to 11% by 2016. The majority of the new, higher density residential developments are located near the eastern edges of the city and this outlying location has significant implications for residents, infrastructure construction, and future development.