Animal Health Planning and Animal Health Plans - Concepts, principles and practicalities

In the United Kingdom it is mandatory for organic livestock farms to have an animal health plan as a document providing evidence of active management of disease and building positive health (Anon 2006). Many organisations, both organic and non organic, (e.g. BCVA, Defra Compendium of UK Organic Standards, Soil Association, RSPCA Freedom Food, NDFAS, FAWL) develop, describe and use animal health planning as a part of their strategy (see Box 1). Currently, it is the presence of a regularly updated health plan document that serves as evidence that this is in place. The benefits of health plans, including animal welfare improvement, financial gain and increased farm efficacy have all been highlighted in various publications (Sibley 2000, Gray & Hovi 2001, Dobbs 2005, Lovatt 2004). It has frequently been suggested that, through good stockmanship and appropriate use of veterinary medicinal products, health planning can improve the smooth running of a farm. An animal health plan should be an active tool for animal health and welfare planning. However, as organic certification and several farm assurance schemes require a health plan there is a danger that they become seen as something to be policed when in fact they should being used as a forum for advice. In order to fulfil this challenge a health plan must therefore be farm specific and relate to farm specific issues

Using biomass waste in the remediation of degraded Land

There has been considerable research into the production of biochar, pyrolysed biomass, which produces a carbon rich material and facilitates long-term CO2 sequestration. The use of this material in agricultural soils suggests that there may also be productivity benefits to be gained along with atmospheric CO2 storage. A number of possible reasons why these biochar derived benefits may, or may not, occur have been suggested and include, an additional source of crop nutrition (acting as a fertilizer), as a modifier of the soil physical, chemical and biological environment (acting as soil conditioner) and as possible improver of crop water availability (acting to delay the onset of environmental stress). The apparent capacity of biochar to produce a diverse range of impacts when incorporated into soil appears to depend on a number of factors, these include the feedstock and the protocol used in its pyrolysis. The chemical nature of the biochar produced can be varied, but controllable, given these factors. Importantly, this flexibility suggests that production could enable biochar structure and function to be designed for a specific end use (‘Smart Biochar’). This paper examines recent research which supports the notion that biochar products, not only have a supplementary role in agriculture, but also a role in environmental management, by provision of materials which facilitate soil remediation. It will also, more specially, examine the potential to design and produce biochars derived from combinations of various feedstocks and pyrolysis protocols to produce smart biochars to amend degraded and contaminated soils. It can be concluded that the production of biochar from waste biomass can provide a means of sequestering atmospheric CO2 it also has an important contribution to increasing the function of poor soils with respect to agriculture use and environmental management. Importantly, here there are also opportunities through the selection of feedstocks and the control of the pyrolysis process that has the potential to produce biochars which are designed for a specific purpose, i.e. ‘smart biochars’ for environmental management

CARTOGRAPHIES OF CATASTROPHE AND COMPETENCY: IS IN THE LONDON AMBULANCE SERVICE (LAS)

The London Ambulance Service (LAS) attempts to enhance its services through the adoption of a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system is a well known and well documented, if not notorious, ongoing narrative of information systems (IS) failure and success (Fitzgerald, Guy & Russo 2005). This paper suggests that René Thom’s catastrophe theory (Thom 1989) could be used as a visual metaphor, which can be used to interpret the historical saga of this possibly catastrophic and possibly successful technological and social change. The capacity of the imagery from ‘cusp catastrophe’ to further inform socio-technical practices, gleaned through these interpretations, will also be discussed

Exploring the Potential of the Ethical Grid for Informing Decision-Taking Practices in the Soft Information Systems and Technologies, Methodology

In line with the overall conference theme of ‘Ethics, Design and Consequences of IT’, this paper seeks to show how ethics, in the form of Seedhouse’s Ethical Grid, can inform the use of a particular methodology, the Soft Information Systems & Technologies Methodology (SISTeM). This paper shows how the ethical elements are often missing from IS development, and how although SISTeM approaches IS development from a sociotechnical perspective, the ethical defense of the decisions made is lacking. The paper further shows how the Ethical Grid can be incorporated into the SISTeM process, to support the consideration of and more explicit voicing of the ethical view. Examples, drawn from the UK healthcare setting, provide practical illustrations of how this integration of the Ethical Grid into the IS development process might be achieved

Images of Information Systems Development in the Practice of Architecture

This paper explores various architectural images and uses them as analogies with which to explore critically computer-based information systems development. These images include approaches, roles and practices, how they relate to the client, to other professions and trades and the built environment. These images, particularly those relating to participative and adaptive development, will be used to propose parallel emergent forms of computer-based information systems development practices and disciplinary relationships that have the potential to address the inconsistent performance of information systems and a record that includes some notable failures. As well as providing guidance to the IS profession and practice, the paper discusses implications for our teaching and the discipline of information systems in general

Using Actor Network Theory to Interpret the Introduction of Information Systems within the London Ambulance Service

This paper presents a comparative analysis of two attempts to computerize the dispatch system (known as CAD) for the London Ambulance Service (LAS). These two cases are relatively well known and the first attempt has been characterized as a „failure‟ and the second as a „success‟. However, this analysis focuses on the human elements and uses Actor Network Theory (ANT) as the comparative interpretive framework to draw insights from the two cases. The ANT analyses focus on the role of the chief executive (CE) in each case, and how well they were able to mobilize the relevant groups involved in the CAD development and implementation. Both cases involved conflict between management and workforce aimed at changing peoples‟ working practices and processes, organizational politics, industrial relationships and the CAD development. The concepts of the successful and unsuccessful problem solving actor networks are developed as a means of appreciating the complexities, comparability and differences of these scenarios. Lessons learned from the comparative experience of the LAS cases provide insights into organizational turnaround, with success attributed to actively integrating IS and business development based on effective problem solving

Effect of Online Modules on Pre-Service Teacher Mental Health Literacy and Efficacy toward Inclusive Practices

Mental health literacy (MHL) for pre-service teachers seeks to improve knowledge and help-seeking behaviours and decrease stigma. Increased MHL may also change perceived stress and self-efficacy for inclusive practices. This cohort study evaluates the impact of an online MHL resource for educators, embedded within a mandatory Bachelor of Education (BEd) course, on pre-service teachers’ MHL, perceived stress, and teacher efficacy toward inclusive practices. Seventy-one pre-service teachers completed the course as well as pre- and post-surveys. Results demonstrated significant and substantial improvements on knowledge, help-seeking, and perceived efficacy for inclusive practices. Increased MHL may be an effective approach in meeting the requirements of inclusive education. Keywords: mental health literacy, pre-service teachers, inclusive education, self-efficacyLa littératie en santé mentale (LSM) pour les enseignants en formation initiale vise à améliorer les connaissances, les comportements de recherche d’aide et à réduire la stigmatisation. Une meilleure LSM peut également modifier la perception du stress et de l’autoefficacité vis-à-vis des pratiques inclusives en enseignement. Cette étude de cohorte évalue l’impact d’une ressource de LSM en ligne pour les éducateurs, qui s’intègre à un cours obligatoire du Baccalauréat en éducation (B. Éd.), sur la LSM chez les stagiaires, leur stress perçu et leur efficacité vis-à-vis des pratiques inclusives. Soixante et onze stagiaires ont suivi le cours et rempli des questionnaires avant et après l’emploi de la ressource. Les résultats ont démontré des améliorations significatives et importantes sur les connaissances, la recherche d’aide et l’autoefficacité perçue vis-à-vis des pratiques inclusives. Une amélioration de la LSM pourrait représenter une approche efficace pour répondre aux exigences de l’éducation inclusive. Mots-clés : littératie en santé mentale, stagiaires en formation à l’enseignement, éducation inclusive, autoefficacit

Folic acid in pregnancy and mortality from cancer and cardiovascular disease : further follow-up of the Aberdeen folic acid supplementation trial

Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions. Acknowledgements The authors wish to acknowledge Professor Marion Hall, who set up the original randomised trial of folic acid supplementation. The authors also thank Ms Katie Wilde and the Data Management Team, University of Aberdeen, for their help with the extraction and linking of data and the data analysts from ISD Scotland.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A Questioning Life: The Hows and Whys in the Application of Plant Science

Chris Atkinson is a plant scientist at the Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich and currently carries out research and teaching in crop science and its application to agriculture and horticulture. Chris’s early career saw him working for Unilever Ltd. and for AFRC at the Rothamsted Research Station in Harpenden, where his career was inspired to change direction from analytical chemistry to plant science. On retraining he gained a First Class Honours degree in Applied Biology from the University of London in 1979. His love of ‘places wild’ and the opportunity to study mountain plants lead him to U.C.N.W. and the School of Plant Biology, Bangor and a Ph.D. on the physiological ecology of montane grasslands (Atkinson, 1982) from the University of Wales. Yes he did take Welsh lessons, but eventually decided it was easier to marry a Welsh-speaker. On finishing his Ph.D. he worked the Dr. Pat Denne in the Department of Forestry, at the University of Wales, learning much about trees that would one day underpin his research. The opportunity arose in 1984 to work with Prof. Harold Mooney and Bill Winner at Stanford University in California and in Virginia at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The magnificence of living in Appalachia and seeing an ‘Appalachian Fall’ is a sight never forgotten, but the attraction of ‘Lakeland’ even greater and the Atkinson’s moved to Lancaster. His third and final postdoctoral position came when Prof. Terry Mansfield FRS and Bill Davies, at Lancaster University, invited him to work on a project linked to the chemical control of stomatal behaviour (funded by Shell UK). Six years in Lancaster saw Chris become a Research Fellow as he started writing and delivering his own research proposals. In order to breakout of the post-doctoral cycle of short-term contacts and limited stability, Chris with some reluctance, left Lancaster to come to the warmer and drier south and join Horticulture Research International (HRI) at East Malling, as a Senior Scientific Officer, in the Crop Physiology Department. Those 2 years in forestry had all been worthwhile as he now worked on perennial woody crops (fruit trees). Lots of hard work and the drive to carry out science in manner which would be of use to an industry saw him promoted to Principle Research Scientist, within the Perennial Quality and Biotechnology Team. Further promotions came and he became an Executive Member of East Malling Research’s Science Management Team, and was part of the team that achieved privatisation status for the institute in 2006. As Head of Science for the newly privatised organisation he oversaw, with the Group Secretary and Finance Director, East Malling Research balancing its financial books for a number of years. Further changes saw him become the Deputy Chief Executive and Senior Programme Leader (Resource Use for Sustainable Production). Chris also became a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture and the Royal Society of Biology, before accepting a Chair at NRI, University of Greenwich, in 2012 and is now the Professor of Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change. His main research interests focus on understanding the impact of environmental factors on the growth and development of crops, particularly fruits. A major part of his work is on the impacts of drought on crop physiology and production. His research also includes studies of the influence of temperature on the growth and quality of fruit, the impact of autumn temperatures/chilling on the flowering and cropping, and developing strategies to optimise production and examining environmental differences in the ability to set and retain fruit. The tolerance mechanisms of different rootstocks, to drought, have also been a subject for investigation. Recent work is directed at the impacts of soil applied biochar and health benefits of fruit consumption, particularly with respect to agronomic ways to enhance fruit bioactive compounds. His research has also included work on perennial biomass crops, enhancing Artemisia production, and pharmaceutical protein production in transformed tobacco. He has also acted as a peer journal reviewer for a wide range of international plant science journals (>20), for many years, and as the editor of the journal Plant Growth Regulation, as well as, a consultant/reviewer for both national and international Research Councils and organisations such as BBSRC, FCT, NERC, DFID, FAO and USDA. His career has resulted in over 250 publications of which over 100 have been in peer-reviewed international journal

Advanced Organic Chemistry laboratory curricula in Australian universities: Investigating the major topics and approaches to learning

A key goal of tertiary education is to prepare graduates with the training, skills, and knowledge necessary to thrive in the workforce. In chemistry, 50% of undergraduate students from Australia, New Zealand and the UK plan to pursue a career that uses chemistry (Ogunde et al., 2017). However, it has also been noted that there is a mismatch in the skills desired by industry when compared with what is taught to undergraduates (Martin et al., 2011; Yasin & Yueying, 2017). Laboratory work is an essential part of undergraduate programs with the objective of developing practical and interpersonal skills with ‘real world’ engagement in chemistry. It is therefore concerning to note the perception among industry stakeholders that the laboratory skills of high-achieving chemistry graduates do not meet the desired standard (Kirton et al., 2014). This project aims to investigate how we can better develop higher level undergraduate chemistry laboratory programs to improve training and competency with industrially relevant skills. This research will undertake an initial investigation into the current organic chemistry laboratory curricula of second- and third-year courses in Australian universities through content analysis of laboratory manuals and unit outlines. To extend our understanding, semi-structured interviews will be conducted with key external stakeholders, academics, and post-graduate teaching staff. This presentation will introduce the initial stages of this project and expand on our intentions to utilise these data to develop an intervention and set of recommendations for undergraduate laboratories. REFERENCES Kirton, S. B., Al-Ahmad, A., & Fergus, S. (2014). Using Structured Chemistry Examinations (SChemEs) as an assessment method to improve undergraduate students’ generic, practical, and laboratory-based skills. Journal of Chemical Education, 91(5), 648-654. Martin, C. B., Schmidt, M., & Soniat, M. (2011). A survey of the practices, procedures, and techniques in undergraduate organic chemistry teaching laboratories. Journal of Chemical Education, 88(12), 1630-1638. Ogunde, J. C., Overton, T. L., Thompson, C. D., Mewis, R., & Boniface, S. (2017). Beyond graduation: Motivations and career aspirations of undergraduate chemistry students. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 18(3), 457-471. Yasin, N. Y. B. M., & Yueying, O. (2017). Evaluating the relevance of the chemistry curriculum to the workplace: Keeping tertiary education relevant. Journal of Chemical Education, 94(10), 1443-1449