Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Gardening practices'

For the purposes of this study, a community garden was defined as an urban space that is divided into plots and assigned to individuals or households, who share in communal responsibilities and decision-making. A literature review found that little research exists regarding community gardening, particularly in relation to policy but also to some aspects of health. There were also similarities in the research between community gardening, gardening in general, and social and therapeutic horticulture (STH). The aims of this study were to explore the motivations, experiences and practices of community gardeners and garden coordinators within the City of Vancouver, and become familiar with key characteristics of community gardens; to investigate any health effects perceived in relation to community gardening; and to examine the role of policy in shaping community gardening in Metro Vancouver and other municipalities. Using a listing of community gardens provided by the City of Vancouver, garden coordinators were contacted and requested to participate in the study by completing a brief survey on phone or electronically, and by forwarding a request for participation to their gardeners. Besides email, gardeners were also recruited at garden events, and were thereafter interviewed on phone for approximately an hour. For emotional and social well-being, as well as nutrition, community gardening was perceived to be highly beneficial. For mental abilities, physical fitness and financial status it was found to have little to no substantial benefit or harm, given that, for the latter two, most community gardeners were regularly involved in more rigorous physical activity, and were also socioeconomically secure. Most gardeners were also less than 50 years of age, female, Caucasian, highly educated and high income earners, and most gardens were located in middle income neighborhoods, with an average of 64 plots, a mean area of half a city block, and a mean age of 10 years. Most Metro Vancouver municipalities had at least one community garden, but no policies in place that were exclusive to community gardening.

This thesis discusses how urban gardening practices enact the relations between play and work, based upon a comparative ethnographic study of allotment, community and guerrilla gardening in London. It deploys participant observation and garden go-alongs, and makes use of photography to engage with the corporealities, textures, and creativities of these practices. Rather than binary conceptions of play and work, this thesis understands urban gardening practices as creating entangled contingencies of play and work in social life. It sees urban gardens as paradoxical spaces of play and work; and thereby develops cultural geography’s understanding of gardens as sites imbued with multiple and contradictory meanings. Gardening is enjoyed for its visceral experience confirming ideas of play as being fun, embodied and absorbing. Yet, it also demands work, because this seemingly voluntary activity implicates social, material and legal obligations. Furthermore, the research demonstrates how objects travel across spaces of play and work, as permeable garden boundaries are made and unmade constantly. By showing these relations between inside and outside, the thesis challenges ideas of the ‘garden’ and the ‘playground’ as fixed, enclosed time-spaces set apart from everyday life. Moreover, this ambiguity is further exemplified by how gardeners have varying perceptions of play, which overlap but also contest each other. This research also enhances debates on public spaces in cities, and more-than-human geographies, by showing how gardening breathes life into the urban through on-going encounters between people, plants and animals. It identifies four types of encounters, namely festive, chance, care-taking and contestation. The range of others encountered is multiple and diverse, and gardeners’ openness towards the contingencies of inhabiting these urban spaces alludes to a playful mode of engaging with the world. The thesis argues that urban gardening practices feed into, complement and offer an alternative to neoliberal conceptions of play and work in post-fordist economies.

This thesis is an attempt to bring to light the value and importance of gardening and varietal diversity maintenance in the indigenous Jê-speaking Ramkokamekra-Canela community of Maranhão, Brazil. Formerly a semi-nomadic community with small garden plots, the modern-day Canela have become subsistence horticulturalists with a dual garden plot system where species and varietal diversity thrive. Thus, the thesis seeks to understand this transformation through a focus on mythic, historical, and contemporary accounts of gardening activities and practices that appear to promote and maintain cultivated crop diversity. Through a comparison with other Jê-speaking communities in northeast and central Brazil, the thesis posits that Canela gardening and varietal diversity maintenance incorporate the transformation and continuity that are common aspects of Jê 'life-worlds.' Additionally, through an exploration of everyday gardening practices and individual and communal rituals in and around garden spaces, the thesis suggests that Canela gardening can best be conceptualized as a series of multi-sensory, embodied engagements between human gardener 'parents' and their growing plant 'children.' In order to explore these engagements fully, the thesis draws on phenomenological (in particular that promoted by British anthropologist Tim Ingold) and other approaches that seek to question the boundaries between the biological, cultural, and social dimensions of life. It is argued that in the emergent Canela 'bio-sociocultural life-world,' certain relational pathways between and among human gardeners and cultivated plants become valued and meaningful through an 'aesthetics of landscape' that incorporates multiple sensory modalities. Thus, the 'bio-sociocultural aesthetics' theoretical approach is put forward as a comprehensive way of understanding the Canela life-world and the myriad human-nonhuman engagements that unfold through and within it.

Thesis (Master of Community Planning)--University of Cincinnati, 2009.
Advisor: Carla Chifos. Title from electronic thesis title page (viewed July 29, 2009). Includes abstract. Keywords: urban agriculture; community gardening; community development; best practices; programming. Includes bibliographical references.

The paper reports on a study of how urban gardening can be implemented in the urban planning for the area, how urban gardening can be used as a tool for a more sustainable city, as well as to understand the role of cafes in encouraging the residents of the Stockholm, both directly and indirectly, to engage in sustainable consumption practices. This project will look at how urban gardening tools can be used within Stockholm to increase sustainable consumption practices. The final outcome, of which, will be a mobile herb garden that travels to different cafes in urban areas of Stockholm, with suggestions as to what could be included in the area to maximize the environmental and economical benefits. Through participatory design approach a range of urban gardening practices has been included in the suggested plans including mobile gardens, community gardens, and growing local foods to maximize the benefits for both the residents and the planet. As a designer and discerning consumers I tried to start to look beyond the pure surface in this project and reveal the potential of urbanization especially by looking closer at “what is” in this case, the impact of cafes can play on encouraging citizens to sustainable consumption and that can be shared as surplus in an urban area in central Stockholm which can be prototyped and be read as a case study to “ what if “.

This thesis asks what the practice of allotment gardening can tell us about social change. Through interviews and participant observation, it explores allotment gardening as a food provisioning practice, and interrogates how it fits with other food-provisioning practices. It also seeks to situate allotment gardening – in which the individual is both producer and consumer –within an alternative food network paradigm, and tease out whether this distinction makes a difference to how individuals approach issues of ethical consumption. I draw on Giddens’s structuration theory and contemporary practice theory to identify the elements of allotment gardening as a practice. Subsequently, I use the data collected from my fieldwork to reflect upon the strengths and limitations of practice theory as an analytical approach to social change. My findings indicate that allotment gardeners did not systematically share the motivations of ethical consumers but that allotment gardening nonetheless achieved some of the aims of ethical consumption. My research also makes a twofold contribution to contemporary practice theory. First, detailed data analysis demonstrates the multi-layered role that social geographic notions of place/space play in the performance of allotment practice; a dimension which could be more fully developed in further research. Second, in support of current thinking that practices must be analysed not in isolation but in combination if we are to account for social change, I argue that a shift in emphasis is necessary to realise the potential of Reckwitz’s notion of the individual as the ‘unique crossing point’ of practices. This involves situating the individual as the determining element within practice, rather than just one element among others. My data further demonstrates how focusing on the individual as a crossing point of social networks reveals the significant impact that relationships have upon practices.

Thesis (MTech (Horticulture))--Peninsula Technikon, 2004
The term "horticultural therapy" is unfamiliar to most South Africans. However it is well accepted in South Africa that horticulture plays an important role in human well being both physically and psychological. It is generally believed that people who engage in gardening tend to benefit. The research study investigates whether plant related activities integrated into rehabilitation programme, actually benefit participants. It shows how patients at a chosen healthcare institution respond upon exposure to various horticulture activities in order to identify activities appropriate for the inclusion and design in a horticultural therapy programme. The study identifies factors necessary for the design of a business plan for a horticulturist engaging in a horticultural therapy programme under local conditions. The methodology adopted was mainly quantitative. The study is also descriptive in nature. It seeks to develop a model from a range of activities that would best meet the needs of specific groups subjects, through the careful and deliberate observation and evaluation of patients as they engage with the activities. The measuring instruments have been designed for experimentation research purpose. It involved setting up an experiment (patients engaged in a designed horticulture activity) and collecting the data. Information regarding the participant response to designed activities was also gathered on the basis of observations and interviews. The population consisted of patients admitted at a public (State) psychiatric institution in the Western Cape. The sample consisted of 12 patients, four patients from each of the following categories: Forensics, Intellectually Challenged, and Psychiatric. The designed activities consisted of 10 activities, and were centered around the following activities: Growing of herbs, learning to take cuttings, planting cuttings, planting seeds for outdoor garden, preparing a garden site, vegetable gardening, weeding, watering, and planting flowering annuals. The first objective of the study was to determine whether the response of different categories of patients to specific horticulture activities differ, in order to select the appropriate activity for each category. Forensic patients responded positively to all ten activities and recorded a high level (70%) of task accomplishment. Intellectually challenged patients had a medium level (46% to 69%) of task accomplishment for the majority of the activities. Psychiatric patients had a high level (70%) for 50 percent of the activities and a medium level (46% to 69%) of task accomplishment for the remainder of the activities. The second objective of the study was to evaluate the degree of effect of the different horticulture activities on each category of patients, in order to determine the relative importance of each activity in the programme in meeting the patients needs. The general findings are that the various categories responded differently to the subsections as shown in the results. Individual patients within the categories also differed in their response to various activities. The results of the study indicate that certain horticultural activities have an impact on patient's deficiencies and encourage their specific needs in the areas of a vocational/educational, interpersonal/social, and responsibility/development The study identified factors necessary for the design of a business plan for a horticulturist to engage in a horticultural therapy programme under local conditions. The business plan provides an outline to develop, market, and implement a horticultural therapy service. The business plan helps identify important ramifications of setting up a business and practicing as a contract worker. The research process has highlighted valuable aspects, which may be easily incorporated into a future horticulture therapy programme. It has shown that certain plant related activities, when successfully integrated into a rehabilitation programme, will benefit participants. The findings and recommendations provide guidelines for the formulation of a structured horticultural therapy programme. It encourages the concept of utilizing gardening in a structured/organized manner to benefit the well being of individuals.
TABEISA, SANTAM

La consommation de légumes cultivés dans un sol contaminé par des métaux et l'inhalation directe du sol représente un risque pour la santé humaine. Afin de maintenir la durabilité des jardins urbains, la prédiction de l'évolution des métaux dans les sols devrait nous permettre d'identifier les risques liés à la contamination des sols par les métaux, et ainsi de mettre en place des pratiques permettant de mieux préserver les fonctions rendues par les sols des jardins et de cibler une réhabilitation plus efficace des sols contaminés. Nous avons utilisé un modèle de bilan de masse pour simuler l'évolution des métaux du sol sous les différentes pratiques de jardinage au cours du temps. Le modèle de bilan de masse a été amélioré pour le rendre applicable aux jardins potagers en considérant leur utilisation régulière et intensive d'amendements organiques. La lixiviation et le prélèvement par les plantes sont les principaux flux de perte de métaux dans les sols. Nous avons incorporé, respectivement, les modèles RothC et VSD+ pour simuler les changements du carbone et du pH dans les sols. Des valeurs spécifiques de PUF (plant uptake factor) pour plus de 60 espèces végétales ont été recueillies dans la littérature pour simuler la perte de métaux par le prélèvement par les plantes. Les flux d'entrée de métaux ont été pris en compte dans le modèle de bilan de masse, en considérant les apports d’engrais chimiques, d’amendements organiques, de pesticides et les dépôts atmosphériques. La profondeur du travail du sol et la rotation des cultures ont également été prises en compte dans le modèle. Nous avons prédit l'évolution des concentrations de métaux dans le sol de 104 jardins potagers français au cours des 100 prochaines années. Si les pratiques de jardinage actuelles sont maintenues, une augmentation des teneurs en Cd (35% en moyenne), Cu (183%) et Zn (27%) du sol devrait se produire après un siècle. La concentration de Pb dans le sol ne devrait pas varier de façon notable. Le modèle a également été utilisé pour simuler les tendances historiques et futures des concentrations en métaux du sol dans le Potager du Roi à Versailles, qui compte plus de 300 ans de pratiques de jardinage depuis sa création en 1683. Le pH du sol et la MO du sol simulés par les modules RothC et VSD+ sont très proches des valeurs mesurées, avec une variation inférieure à 10%. Les teneurs en Zn des sols ont été bien simulées par rapport aux valeurs mesurées, avec un intervalle de variation de 3% à 25% dans les différents scénarios. Des résultats moins précis ont été trouvés dans les simulations de tendances historiques de la teneur en Cd, Cu et Pb dans les sols. Dans les simulations de tendances futures, les teneurs en métaux des sols du Potager du Roi augmenteront de 39 % pour le Cd, 20 % pour le Cu, 5 % pour le Pb et 32 % pour le Zn dans un siècle, alors que les pratiques de jardinage actuelles seraient maintenues. Le compost de déchets verts contribue à plus de 70 % du total des flux de métaux entrants et sortants. En outre, il existerait une surexposition alimentaire chronique au Cd et au Pb pour les personnes qui ne consommeraient que des légumes cultivés dans le Potager du Roi à l'avenir. D'après les résultats des simulations, les pratiques de jardinage actuelles peuvent entraîner une accumulation de métaux dans les sols des potagers français. Une norme relative aux pratiques de jardinage devrait être élaborée pour prévenir/atténuer la contamination des sols par les métaux afin de garantir la sécurité alimentaire
Consumption of vegetables grown in a soil contaminated by trace metals and direct soil inhalation pose a risk to human health. In order to maintain the sustainability of urban gardens, predicting the evolution of metals in soils should allow to identify risks related to metal contamination of soil, and thus to apply practices to better preserve the functions rendered by garden soils and target a more efficient rehabilitation of contaminated soils. We used a mass balance model to simulate the evolution of soil metals under the different gardening practices over time. The mass balance was improved to make it more applicable to vegetable gardens by considering the regular and intensive use of organic waste amendments. Leaching and plant uptake are the main flows of metals loss in soils. We incorporate the RothC and VSD+ models to simulate the changes in soil carbon and pH over time, respectively. Specific values of plant uptake factor for over 60 vegetable species have been collected from literature to simulate metal loss via plant uptake. Metal input flows are associated to chemical fertilizers, organic waste amendment, pesticides and atmospheric deposition. Soil tillage depth and crop rotation have also been considered in the model. We predicted the evolution of soil metal (Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn) concentrations in 104 French vegetable gardens over the next 100 years. If current gardening practices are maintained, an increase in soil Cd (35% on average), Cu (183%), and Zn (27%) contents should occur after a century. Soil Pb concentration should not vary consistently. The model has also been used to simulate the historical and future trends of soil metal concentrations in the King’s Vegetable Garden (Potager du Roi) in Versailles, which has more than 300 years of gardening practices since its creation in 1683. Simulated soil pH and OM by the integrated RothC and VSD+ modules are very close to measured values, with variation less than 10%. Soil Zn contents have been well simulated comparing to measured values, with a variation range of 3% to 25% in different scenarios. Less accurate results were found in the historical trend simulations of Cd, Cu and Pb content in soils. In the future trend simulations, the soil metal contents will increase by 39% for Cd, 20% for Cu, 5% for Pb, and 32% for Zn for the next century, while the current gardening practices will be maintained in King’s Vegetable Garden. Green waste compost contributes over 70% of the total input and output metal flows. Moreover, there would be a chronic over-exposure to Cd and Pb for people who would only consume vegetables grown in the King's Vegetable Garden in the future. According to the results of the simulations, current gardening practices can lead to accumulation of metals in French vegetable garden soils. A standard for gardening practices should be developed to prevent/mitigate soil metal contamination in order to ensure food safety

The purpose of this thesis is to describe the harvesting and dietary practices of two rural and remote Indigenous communities. The ethnographic methods of participant observations and semi-structured interviews availed an abundance of rich and detailed data that allowed for a clear understanding of the barriers these two communities face when accessing food. This is an articled-based thesis containing three parts. Part one is composed of a literature review that describes the barriers that have contributed to food insecurity problems in Indigenous communities. It finishes with a chapter dedicated to defining the postcolonial theoretical perspective and describing how and why it was employed during this research process. The postcolonial perspective was chosen to best understand the historical forces that caused food insecurity in Indigenous communities and justify my position as a non-indigenous researcher in the field of Indigenous health. The second part of the thesis is made up of two articles. Article one will describe the current situation of food access challenges and responses in Canada, more specifically in two rural and remote First Nations communities. The article illustrates how both First Nations are experiencing challenges obtaining healthy food from the market and from the land. The article describes what is involved in acquiring food in both communities, and the responses each community is taking to increase food access. The article concludes by pointing out how these initiatives are building more than just food capacity and why they deserve greater external support. The second article is focused solely in the community of Wapekeka, and is entitled The Cost of Local Food Procurement in One Northern Rural and Remote Indigenous Community. The purpose of the article is to provide a specific example of building local food capacity as strategy to address food insecurity. It documents the costs associated with traditional food procurement and compares these costs against the price of food available in the store. The final component of the thesis is the overall conclusion, highlighting the belief that the findings presented in this thesis will promote and emphasize the importance of land-based food initiatives as a way to foster positive health outcomes for all Indigenous peoples.

This research investigates how a communication system could support urban gardeners intheir activities. By looking at agriculture not as a mere activity for food production but as arich social practice, this research addresses gardeners dual need of acquiring knowledge and develop social relationship.Findings from an ethnographic research of two local agriculture communities are described.Participatory design has been used to identify design opportunities and co-create conceptideas. Prototypes have been used to evaluate key aspects and refine the final concept. Byinviting intended users to take an active role during the entire design process, the result of this research is grounded not only in the theory but also on people's aspirations and realexperience.

Les gastroentérites aiguës affectent chaque année entre un quart et la moitié des personnes dans le Monde. Elles sont causes de morbidité, de mortalité et de coûts de santé importants. Leur transmission directe ou indirecte via l’eau, les aliments, l’air ou les surfaces inertes dépend de leur étiologie (virale, bactérienne ou parasitaire) et du contexte local. Bogotá et sa région présentent plusieurs spécificités : des eaux usées rejetées en rivière souvent sans ou après seulement un traitement primaire, la mise en décharge des papiers toilettes, couches et protections souillés par les excréments, et une consommation de fruits et légumes faible et limitée à des produits bon marché irrigués par des eaux pouvant être contaminées fécalement. Notre thèse visait à évaluer les flux de certains pathogènes entériques de l’Homme dans l’environnement à proximité de Bogotá et à essayer de relier ces flux à la santé de la population.La thèse a associé trois contributions. Premièrement, une méthode de culture du norovirus humain a été mise au point en utilisant des villosités intestinales isolées de souris comme modèle cellulaire présentant toute la diversité des cellules épithéliales intestinales. Plusieurs concentrations en trypsine ont été testées pour activer les norovirus ; la méthode a été appliquée à des échantillons fécaux et environnementaux. Deuxièmement, les contaminations en E. coli et en pathogènes entériques de l’Homme ont été suivies dans des eaux (lixiviat de décharge, eau de ruissellement, rivière, eau d’irrigation, eau potable), des légumes-feuilles mangés crus (blettes) et l'air (au-dessus d’une décharge, en zone rurale, en zone urbaine) dans la région de Bogotá. Troisièmement, l’impact des contextes socioéconomiques et des pratiques individuelles (alimentation, hygiène et santé) sur les cas de gastroentérites aiguës a été testé à partir d’enquêtes réalisées dans un district de Bogotá et analysées par divers outils (analyse en composante principale, modélisation …).Nous avons montré que les villosités intestinales isolées de souris permettent l'infection et la réplication du norovirus humain. Le virus doit être activé avec de la trypsine et a un cycle réplicatif moyen de 10 h. Les villosités sont efficaces pour obtenir un matériel biologique abondant et sont idéales pour étudier l'activité biologique du norovirus ou générer des anticorps. Elles ont permis de voir des norovirus non détectés par méthode moléculaire dans certains excréments ou échantillons environnementaux ; les échantillons positifs par méthode moléculaire ou en immunodot-blot contenaient quasiment tous des norovirus infectieux. Au niveau régional, les rejets d'eaux usées dans les rivières Bogotá et Balsillas et dans le marais Tres Esquinas contaminent le réseau d'irrigation de La Ramada au nord-ouest de Bogotá en E. coli et potentiellement en pathogènes entériques de l’Homme. Les blettes récoltées dans cette zone étaient fortement contaminées, en contraste d’autres zones de culture. Leur contamination évoluait de leur production à leur achat dans les commerces de proximité, les lavages pouvant être contaminants ou décontaminants, les manipulations sur l’étal des marchands étant contaminantes. L’air était souvent contaminé par E. coli et par Shigella spp., sans pouvoir attribuer à la décharge Doña Juana un rôle particulier. La présence de Shigella spp. était observée parallèlement dans plus de la moitié des selles des personnes diarrhéiques. Les enquêtes réalisées ont montré que la fréquence annuelle des gastroentérites aiguës diminuait avec l’accroissement de l’âge des personnes ; elle semblait plus faible dans les foyers avec personnes âgées, peut-être en lien avec des pratiques plus strictes en matière d’hygiène, alimentaire notamment
Acute gastroenteritis affect between a quarter and a half of people in the World each year. They are responsible for significant morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs. Their direct or indirect transmissions via water, food, air or inert surfaces depend on their aetiology (viral, bacterial or parasitic) and the local context. Bogotá and its region have several specificities: wastewater are often discharged into rivers without or after primary treatment only, the deposit in landfill of toilet papers and diapers soiled by excrement, and the low consumption of fruits and vegetables largely restricted to a handful of relatively cheap products that may be irrigated by surface freshwaters heavily contaminated with faeces. Our PhD aimed to assess the fluxes of some human enteric pathogens in the region of Bogotá and to try to relate these fluxes to the population health. The PhD combined three contributions. First, a method for culturing the human norovirus has been developed using isolated mouse intestinal villi as a cell model exhibiting the full diversity of intestinal epithelial cells. Several concentrations of trypsin were tested to activate noroviruses; the method was applied to faecal and environmental samples. Second, contamination with E. coli and some human enteric pathogens was monitored in water (landfill leachate, runoff water, river, irrigation water, drinking water), leafy vegetables eaten raw (chards) and air (above a landfill, in rural areas, in urban areas) in the Bogotá region. Third, the impact of socioeconomic contexts and individual practices (food, hygiene and health) on cases of acute gastroenteritis was assessed from surveys carried out in one district of Bogotá and analysed by various tools (principal component analysis, modelling …). We have shown that mouse isolated intestinal villi allow the infection and replication of human norovirus. The virus has to be activated with trypsin and has an average replicative cycle of 10 h. Villi are efficient in obtaining abundant biological material and are ideal for studying the biological activity of norovirus or for generating antibodies. They made it possible to see infectious noroviruses not detected by molecular method in several faeces and environmental samples; almost all samples positive by molecular method or immunodot-blot contain infectious noroviruses. At the regional level, the discharges of wastewater in the Bogotá and Balsillas rivers and in Tres Esquinas march contaminate the irrigation network of La Ramada area in the northwest of Bogotá with E. coli and potentially human enteric pathogens. Chards harvested in this area were heavily contaminated, in contrast to other growing areas. Their contamination evolved from their production to their purchase in nearby stores, washings increasing or decreasing their contamination, and handling on the merchant's stalls increasing contamination. The air was often contaminated with E. coli and Shigella spp.; it was not possible to detect a particular contribution of the Doña Juana landfill in pathogen aerosolization. The presence of Shigella spp. was observed in parallel in more than half of the stools of people with diarrhoea. Surveys have shown that the annual frequency of acute gastroenteritis decreases with increasing age; it seemed less common in households with elderly people, possibly due to stricter food hygiene practices. A transmission model of acute gastroenteritis distinguishing contamination from outside the households and contaminations between people in the same households did not show significant differences between neighbourhoods. Used to simulate numerical experiments, it suggests working on much higher numbers of surveys
La gastroenteritis aguda afecta entre una cuarta parte y la mitad de las personas en el mundo cada año. Son responsables de importantes costos de morbilidad, mortalidad y asistencia sanitaria. Sus transmisiones directas o indirectas a través del agua, alimentos, aire o superficies inertes dependen de su etiología (viral, bacteriana o parasitaria) y del contexto local. Bogotá y su región aledaña tienen varias especificidades: las aguas residuales a menudo se vierten a los ríos sin o solo después de un tratamiento primario, el depósito de papel higiénico y pañales sucios con excrementos son dispuestos generalmente en un relleno sanitario, y el bajo consumo de frutas y verduras restringido en gran medida a un puñado de productos relativamente baratos pueden ser irrigados por aguas dulces superficiales muy contaminadas con excrementos. Nuestra tesis doctoral tuvo como objetivo evaluar los flujos de algunos patógenos entéricos humanos en la región de Bogotá y tratar de relacionar estos flujos con la salud de la población. El doctorado combinó tres contribuciones. En primer lugar, se desarrolló un método para cultivar el norovirus humano utilizando vellosidades intestinales aisladas de ratón como modelo celular que exhibe la diversidad completa de células epiteliales intestinales. Se probaron varias concentraciones de tripsina para activar norovirus; el método se aplicó a muestras fecales y ambientales. En segundo lugar, se evidenció la contaminación de E. coli y patógenos entéricos humanos en el agua (lixiviados de vertedero, agua de escorrentía, río, agua de riego, agua potable), vegetales de hoja que se comen crudos (acelgas) y aire (sobre un vertedero sanitario, así como en áreas rurales y urbanas) en la región de Bogotá. En tercer lugar, se evaluó el impacto de los contextos socioeconómicos y las prácticas individuales (alimentación, higiene y salud) frente a los casos de gastroenteritis aguda a partir de encuestas realizadas en una localidad de Bogotá y analizadas mediante diversas herramientas (análisis de componentes principales, modelización…). Con este doctorado, hemos demostrado que las vellosidades intestinales aisladas de ratón permiten la infección y la replicación del norovirus humano. El virus debe activarse con tripsina y tiene un ciclo replicativo promedio de 10 h. Las vellosidades son eficaces para obtener abundante material biológico y son ideales para estudiar la actividad biológica de los norovirus o para generar anticuerpos. Ellas permitieron ver norovirus infecciosos no detectados por método molecular en varias heces y muestras ambientales; casi todas las muestras positivas por método molecular o inmunodot-blot contienían norovirus infecciosos. A nivel regional, los vertidos de aguas residuales en los ríos Bogotá y Balsillas y en el humedal Tres Esquinas contaminan la red de riego La Ramada en el noroeste de Bogotá con E. coli y potencialmete con patógenos entéricos humanos. Las acelgas recolectadas en esta área resultaron muy contaminadas, a diferencia de otras áreas de cultivo. Su contaminación evolucionó desde la producción hasta su compra en las tiendas cercanas, los lavados aumentaron o disminuyeron su contaminación y la manipulación en los puestos de comercio aumentaron la contaminación. El aire a menudo estaba contaminado con E. coli y Shigella spp., sin poder atribuir al relleno sanitario Doña Juana un rol particular. A su vez la presencia de Shigella spp. se observó en paralelo en más de la mitad de las deposiciones de personas con diarrea. Las encuestas demostraron que la frecuencia anual de gastroenteritis aguda disminuye respecto al aumento en edad; parecía menos común en hogares con personas mayores, posiblemente debido a prácticas de higiene alimentaria más estrictas. Un modelo de transmisión de gastroenteritis aguda que distinguió la contaminación fuera de los hogares y las contaminaciones entre personas dentro de los mismos hogares no mostró diferencias significativas entre vecindarios

Un changement rapide et d’ampleur vers des pratiques agricoles qui contribuent à la protection de l’environnement et la santé humaine est nécessaire. Dans de nombreux cas, ces pratiques alternatives existent, mais elles ne sont pas mises en œuvre du fait de contraintes au niveau de la parcelle, de l’exploitation, du territoire, de la filière et/ou à une échelle globale. Dans ma thèse, j’ai développé une méthodologie d’accompagnement du changement de pratiques prenant en compte les déterminants du choix des pratiques aux différentes échelles. J’ai appliqué cette méthodologie sur un cas d’étude précis : la gestion des bioagresseurs telluriques, en particulier des nématodes à galles, en maraîchage sous abris provençal. Les nématodes à galles causent des dommages importants sur les cultures maraîchères au niveau provençal (40% des exploitations touchées) et mondial. Leur gestion actuelle repose essentiellement sur l’usage de nématicides non sélectifs causant des dommages en matière environnementale et de santé humaine. Tout d’abord, j’ai réalisé une analyse sociotechnique montrant que le système agri-alimentaire maraîcher provençal était majoritairement verrouillé autour de l’utilisation des techniques « de désinfection radicale des sols », excluant ainsi la mise en œuvre de techniques alternatives agroécologiques. Ce verrouillage était constitué d’un ensemble de freins interconnectés qui ont entravé le changement de pratiques et auxquels prenait part une diversité de parties prenantes au niveau provençal et au-delà : les agriculteurs, l’amont et l’aval de la filière (consommateurs inclus), la R&D et les acteurs des politiques publiques. Suite à cette analyse, j’ai étudié des innovations couplées existantes facilitant la mise en œuvre d’une protection agroécologique des cultures dans les systèmes légumiers français. Cette « traque aux innovations » nous a permis d’identifier 5 types d’innovations couplées, et pour chaque type les combinaisons de leviers sociotechniques mobilisés et leurs conditions de mise en œuvre. En parallèle, j’ai mis au point un jeu sérieux me permettant de partager efficacement le résultat de l’analyse sociotechnique avec les parties prenantes du problème. Ce jeu sérieux m’a également permis de faciliter la gestion des connaissances et la créativité chez les parties prenantes et de favoriser leur collaboration, afin d’initier la conception de solutions innovantes adaptées au problème traité. Enfin, j’ai mobilisé les travaux précédents (analyse, traque et jeu) lors de 4 ateliers de coconception avec les parties prenantes. J’ai créé et mobilisé une diversité de dispositifs d’accompagnement dans ces ateliers. Ils ont permis de concevoir des solutions de plus en plus élaborées pour faciliter le changement de pratiques. Au total, nous avons collectivement conçu 50 solutions innovantes dont 41 innovations couplées, ouvrant ainsi l’espace des solutions possibles. Nous avons également évalué une partie des innovations couplées. En discussion, je pointe les pistes d’action et de recherche prometteuses pour faciliter l’implémentation de pratiques agroécologiques de gestion des bioagresseurs telluriques en maraîchage provençal sous abris. Je discute les évolutions possibles du dispositif méthodologique que j’ai développé au cours de ma thèse. Je propose ainsi d'améliorer son efficacité et de compléter le processus de conception en précisant les conditions de mise en œuvre des innovations conçues, en les évaluant et en les ancrant dans le système agri-alimentaire territorial. Enfin, je montre que ce travail contribue à établir des bases théoriques et méthodologiques à l’accompagnement du changement de pratiques par la reconception multi-échelle de systèmes agricoles. Les parties A « Problématique » et C « Discussion » de ma thèse sont rédigées en français. La partie B est constituée de trois articles et d’un chapitre de thèse rédigés en anglais
A rapid and far-reaching change towards farming practices that contribute to the protection of the environment and the human health is needed. In many cases, these alternative practices exist but are not implemented due to interconnected barriers at the plot, farm, territory, value chain and/or global level. In my thesis, I developed a methodology taking into account the determinants of the farming practice choices at the different levels to support the change in farming practices. I applied this methodology to a specific case study: the management of soil-borne pests and diseases, mainly root-knot nematodes, in sheltered vegetable farming systems in Provence (France). The impact of root-knot nematodes on vegetable crops is significant both in Provence (40% of farms affected) and worldwide. Their management is essentially based on the use of non-selective nematicides that are damaging for the human health and the environment.First, I carried out a sociotechnical analysis showing that most of the Provençal agri-food system was locked around the use of "radical soil disinfection" techniques, thus excluding the implementation of alternative agroecological techniques. This lock-in arose from interconnected barriers to the change in practices, involving a diversity of stakeholders at the Provençal level and beyond it: farmers, upstream and downstream of the sector (including consumers), R&D and public policy actors. Following this analysis, I studied existing coupled innovations that foster the implementation of agroecological crop protection in French vegetable systems. This “tracking of innovations” led us to identify 5 types of coupled innovations, and for each of them, the combinations of sociotechnical levers mobilized and the way they were implemented. Meanwhile, I developed a serious game enabling the effective sharing of the sociotechnical analysis results to the stakeholders of the studied problem. This serious game also enabled to facilitate stakeholders’ knowledge management and creativity and the collaboration between them, for initiating the design of innovative solutions tailored for the problem under study. Finally, I mobilized the previous works (analysis, tracking, serious game) in 4 co-design workshops conducted with the stakeholders. I created and implemented several methods in these workshops to design increasingly elaborate solutions that favor change in practices. As a result, we collectively designed 50 coupled innovations including 41 coupled innovations, thus opening up the space of possible solutions. We evaluated part of the complex coupled innovations.In the discussion, I point out the promising avenues of action and research to facilitate the implementation of agroecological practices for the management of soil-borne pests and diseases in Provençal sheltered vegetable farming systems. I discuss the possible evolution of the methodology I developed during this thesis, in order to improve its efficiency and complete the design process. I make proposals to specify the conditions of the implementation of the innovations designed, evaluate them and anchor them in the territorial agri-food system. Finally, I show that this work contributes to establishing theoretical and methodological bases to multi-level redesign of agricultural systems for accompanying changes in farming practices.Parts A "Problem" and C "Discussion" of my thesis are written in French. Part B consists of three articles and one chapter of the thesis written in English

The challenges facing small scale irrigation development in South Africa are varied and complex. This complexity is exacerbated by the many years of systematic neglect, in tandem with material and intellectual impoverishment of the majority of participants in this agricultural sector. Attempting to juggle sustainable development of small scale agriculture and environmental and socio-economic advancement is difficult, but there is sufficient evidence in the literature to suggest that small scale agriculture is increasing not only in South Africa but in Sub-Saharan Africa (Collier and Field, 1998) There is no doubt that this observed increase in irrigated communal gardens result from their increasingly important role of providing food security and as means of augmenting family income. Hence the government,NGO' s and other private sector organisations have increased their support for these small scale agricultural initiatives. Small scale agriculture is therefore increasingly becoming a common land use, and with this increased support, it is likely to become a major water user, particularly as it is located in close proximity to the water source. Hence both practices and processes for small scale agriculture require careful study. Irrigation practices have been studied in KwaZulu-Natal where small scale community gardens are continuously developing. The study included two locations near Pietermaritzburg. The first, at Willowfontein, involved irrigation by furrow , and the second, at Taylors Halt, involved irrigation by hand, using containers. The dynamics of the subsurface flow was monitored using tensiometry and modelled in detail using a two dimensional, soil physics model, Hydrus-2D, to evaluate the application efficiency. This study consisted of three parts viz: socio-economic system appraisal, technical measurement and monitoring, and modelling. Important findings obtained include the following: The highlighting of pertinent socio-economic issues governing water use and allocation and other operations in developing small scale agricultural conditions, including constraints to the development of this sector under the conditions described. The demonstration of the use of reasonably inexpensive, but sophisticated measuring techniques to observe the soil water processes in small scale community gardening practices. Accurate simulations of soil water infiltration,redistribution and uptake using the Hydrus2D model. With these successful simulations, together with the results of the social system appraisal, more efficient irrigation scenarios are proposed and evaluated. The development of a methodology that could be used to assess small scale irrigation efficiencies, with computer simulation models used as tools to conduct such an assessment.
Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.

碩士
中原大學
建築研究所
99
Abstract Sustainable development for communities is a proposed objective among the recent government-related programs. The government also presents the idea of creating a community environment by using ecological engineering methods to promote the concept of sustainable communities. Since having different understanding in this area, I hope this study could offer a further explore on the topic of sustainable communities from the local community residents’ participate in the "community farming" action during their daily lives. From the fundamental living side, the thesis rethinks the relationship of people to land, people to people and people to a community environment to achieve the goals of sustainable communities and environmental sustainability in the daily life. This study takes a sample case from Ren-Ho community of Dasi Township in Taoyuan County, a re-zoned community, as the study case. Through participatory observation and in-depth interviews, it arises the residents’ knowing of the community environment ecology by re-using of the unused spaces and the organic planting. By community farming to create a community environment and from the farming operations to produce the identification, making all individuals of people to have a fundamental change of the past habits, desires and attitudes towards the environment is a bottom-up spontaneous action which could be a living reference model for the community sustainability. Thus, we know the individual recognition about the environmental sustainability and awareness is the most fundamental forces to maintain all environments.