An introductory perspective to horticulture: plants for people and places

Horticulture is “the first of all the arts and sciences”. This definition indicates both the breadth and depth of the discipline and its early inception as mankind changed from being hunter-gatherers to cultivators. Intensive crop production which is a form of horticulture preceded more extensive agricultural practices. From that time onwards the intricate involvement of horticulture in man’s life has become very apparent by its multitude of applications and the interests of those involved. These extend from the provision of foodstuffs and nutritional benefits through pharmaceuticals to aspects of rest and relaxation onto encouraging physical and mental well-being. Horticulture is therefore, a discipline with many components and as such that it can mean different things in the varying context of its use. This chapter introduces the meanings of horticulture as expressed by the authors who have contributed to this Trilogy of Books. They have analysed in considerable depth “Horticulture” as expressed in its facets of production, environment and society. Horticulture has impact and expression in each of these fields of human activity. This chapter also sets Horticulture into the wider context of the world of plants and their intensive cultivation both in their use by mankind and in the natural world. The aim is to demonstrate the depth and breadth of human activity associated with this discipline for it stretches from crop production, through landscape design and maintenance and into aspects of society and its expression in the arts and humanities. Horticulture touches almost every aspect of human activity. Increasingly Horticulture has significant importance in contributing towards the mitigation of the major problems which now face life on Earth such as:- climate change, food security, the loss of natural biodiversity, pollution, resource erosion and over-population. Indeed despite or perhaps because of its antiquity and therefore its strong connection between science, technology and practice horticulture can offer solutions that might allude other disciplines.

Performance and narrative, bodies and movement in the construction of places and objects, spaces and knowledges: The case of the Maltese megaliths

The article explores the ways knowledge and space are co-produced performatively through bodily movement in an examination of the Maltese megaliths the first complex stone structures in the world. It is argued that knowledge is best seen as spatialized narratives of human actions and objects as materialized forms of those spatial narratives. Rewriting our social and historical narratives so that the performativity of place, space and knowledge is restored opens new possibilities for rethinking the social and material order.

Recruiting in public places : A strategy to increase diversity in qualitative research samples

For some research projects, recruiting in public places is an invaluable addition to sampling strategies. It complements the more traditional recruitment strategies by providing researchers with' opportunities to include people in the research who would otherwise be excluded. One of the limitations of selective and snowball sampling is that participants often come from the same social group. Participants from these social groups often share similar experiences and ways of thinking about those experiences. The aim of recruiting in public places is to move beyond this 'in group' to ensure a wider perspective. This paper illustrates how recruiting in public places can provide greater sample diversity for theoretical strength. The paper begins with a brief overview of recruiting in public places. It then describes the theoretical considerations associated with this recruiting strategy. The paper demonstrates how recruiting in public places facilitates grounded theory by providing comparisons that are informed by diverse experiences. Using examples and a case study, we illustrate how recruiting in public places can complement selective, snowball and theoretical sampling to ensure a more comprehensive sample.

Mismanagement of delerium places patients at risk

Objective: This paper discusses the problem of delirium and the challenges of accurately assessing, preventing and managing patients with delirium in an acute care setting.

Primary Argument: Acute confusion, also known as delirium, is misdiagnosed and under-treated in up to 94% of older patients in hospitals. With the ageing population, this problem will increase dramatically in the Australian setting. Managing patients with delirium is challenging not only for the management of their basic nursing care needs but also because they are prone to adverse events such as falls and medication problems. In order to address this issue it is vital that health care professionals routinely assess patients for signs of delirium. The current 'gold standard' for assessing delirium is the use of the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) which has been developed based on the diagnostic criteria set by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV and can be used by non-psychiatrists. Further, increased attention should be given to the prevention and management of delirium and the use of orientation and validation therapy.

Conclusion: Research indicates that early identification and intervention can help to limit any negative effects or adverse events. Increasing knowledge and awareness of early detection and efficient management of delirium is the first step toward prevention.

People, places...and other people? Integrating understanding of intrapersonal, social and environmental determinants of physical activity

“People or places: what should be the target?” was the provocative title of a keynote session at the fifth Australian National Physical Activity Conference held in Melbourne in 2005. This paper will argue that in fact there need not be major conflict between these views, and that couching recent debate about physical activity promotion as a polarised choice between these presents a false dichotomy. To illustrate this, the paper will consider several problems with singular approaches to understanding and promoting physical activity, and will then describe emerging empirical evidence on the nexus between people and places. To balance an increasing emphasis in the scientific literature on physical environmental determinants of physical activity, the role of intrapersonal and social factors will also be revisited. It is concluded that growing evidence supporting the multiple domains of influence on physical activity justifies calls for multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral partnerships and approaches to the promotion of active lifestyles.

Embodied women at work in neoliberal times and places

In this article five women explore (female) embodiment in academic work in current workplaces. In a week-long collective biography workshop they produced written memories of themselves in their various workplaces and memories of themselves as children and as students. These memories then became the texts out of which the analysis was generated. The authors examine the constitutive and seductive effects of neoliberal discourses and practices, and in particular, the assembling of academic bodies as particular kinds of working bodies. They use the concept of chiasma, or crossing over, to trouble some aspects of binary thinking about bodies and about the relations between bodies and discourses. They examine the way that we simultaneously resist and appropriate, and are seduced by and appropriated within, neoliberal discourses and practices.