In The Gambia, climate change has affected, and continues to affect, the agriculture sector. Thus, there is a need to develop and understand effective agricultural adaptation policies. The present study used protection motivation theory to describe farmers’ adoption of climate change adaptation measures in the Central River Region of The Gambia. Primary data were collected in eight communities of the region. A transect walk was conducted, followed by a survey of farmers (n = 283). Perception data collected referred back to the past 20 years, with stated implementation addressing current adaptation practices. Results showed that the perception variables, namely, severity, ability to withstand, and internal barriers, were significantly correlated with protection motivation, while protection motivation and stated implementation for water conservation technique were strongly correlated. Structural equation modeling confirmed the mediation role of protection motivation between farmers’ “stated implementation” of adaptation measures and their perception of climate variability. A decrease in soil water storage capacity, degradation of the quality of soil surface structure, and a decrease of the length of the growing season are all factors that motivate farmers to implement an adaptation measure. The cost of the implementation and farmers’ vulnerability are factors that prevent implantation of adaptation measures. This study suggested that farmers’ resilience should be improved and adaptation measures should be subsidized in order to make them more accessible to farmers.
A number of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) applications require a modification of surface properties of the polymer. In the present work, the effects of plasma treatment on the resulting surface, including chemical composition, wettability, and roughness, were assessed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, contact angle measurements, and scanning electron microscopy analysis. A significant alteration regarding the oxygen and carbon content as evidenced by the XPS data was observed after oxygen plasma treatment. Scanning electron microscope images revealed a drastic change of the topography of the treated surface. These changes correspond to improvement in the printability of the treated surface. Therefore, plasma modification in air is demonstrated to be a viable method to improve printability of PVC.
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