Could you hand me the efficiency section, please? Newspaper circulation and local government efficiency in Norway

Whenever citizens want their elected officials to employ funds efficiently, they are in need of information in order to establish accountability. We develop an agency model with imperfect monitoring where newspapers provide voters with this information. The model predicts that an informed electorate is more likely to hold an incumbent accountable. Using panel data on Norwegian municipalities we show that increases in local newspaper circulation are associated with higher levels of local government efficiency as measured by an index introduced by the Norwegian authorities.media, newspapers, local government, public sector efficiency, Norway

Supressive effects of yard waste compost amended growing media on soilborne palnt pathogens in organic horticulture

Suppressive effects of composts have been demonstrated mainly by American scientists with composted hard-wood bark as a part of container media for ornamentals. In this paper we report about experiments with yard waste- (YWC), biogenic waste- (BWC) and cattle manure compost (CMC) towards the soil borne pathogen Pythium ultimum Trow. There are results included from model composting systems and from yard waste composts originating from two commercial composting plants (C-YWC). It was shown that, in comparison to the other tested composts, YWC from the model composting system was superior in reducing disease incidence caused by P. ultimum on peas. In fifteen cases out of eighteen experiments with addition of 15 % compost the amendment of YWC resulted in significantly higher fresh matter compared to the control treatment. The average reduction of disease incidence of YWC was 50 %. Amendment of sterilised sand with BWC resulted in similarly good results for both amendment rates. However, this was not the case with CMC. In total, the addition of CMC resulted only three times in a significantly higher fresh matter than the control. Reduction of disease incidence was markedly lower than that provided by YWC or BWC. In bioassays using YWC amended peat growing media we could demonstrate the high suppressive abilities of this compost. In these systems which are closer to conditions of the horticultural industry it was possible to ver-ify the results previously obtained with steril sand as the basic growing medium. Due to the favourable chemical characteristics of YWC it was possible to add between 30 % and 50 % (v/v) to a peat growing medium without adverse effects on the cultivated plants. Growing media amended with 50 % of YWC waste com-post contained between 50 and 100 mg N/l as easily available NO3-N and the measured salt content ranged from 0,9 to 1,1 g KCl/l. In the cucumber bioassay amendment of 50 % YWC to the peat growing media markedly suppressed P. ultimum and reduced disease incidence up to 86 %. Results from bioassays obtained with C-YWC confirmed the former results with YWC from the model system. C-YWC from composting trial 1 reduced disease incidence up to 80 % in treatments with a strong disease severity of approx. 70 to 90 %. The compost produced in composting plant 2 during the second composting trial showed consistent effects in suppression of P. ultimum even on an higher infection level. So far, we could observe a slight trend that suppressive effects are dependent on the composting time. Material obtained in the age of 3 to 6 month seemed to be more effective than material from samples of the older compost. Although these results are preliminary, they demonstrate the possibility to produce suppressive composts on commercial composting plants using Y

Crop growth effects of processed raw materials applied as fertilisers or growth stimulators – a summary of partial EU project results

In an EU CRAFT project (COOP-CT-2004-508458) running from March 2004 to March 2006, an international consortium of producers of environmen-tally benign crop inputs (BFPs: Biological Food for Plants), RTD performers and end users, evaluated the production and use of BFPs manufactured from differ-ent raw materials: bovine hides, trees, and herba-ceous species. At the manufacturing level, production methods and procedures were reviewed to establish possible relationships between processing steps and end-product quality. At the field level, the BFP prod-ucts were applied as solid pellets or liquids, as fertil-isers or sprays, respectively, on organically grown potatoes and tomatoes and conventionally grown watermelon, cauliflower, strawberries, black currant, raspberries and apples. Evaluations were made of yield, plant health, quality aspects, and environmental effects of the products. In this paper, some Polish crop growth results are presented. In most of the experiments the solid BFP fertilisers did not give positive growth effects additional to those obtained with conventional fertilisers, probably because of the very high fertility levels of the soils used. One of the liquid BFP products applied as a spray performed very well in most experiments. It is concluded that espe-cially liquid BFPs can have very promising effects on crop performance and as such they merit much more scientific attention than what is evident to date

Einsatz suppressiver Grünabfallkomposte zur Kulturstabilisierung gegenüber bodenbürtigen Krankheiten im ökologischen Gartenbau

Suppressive Effekte von Komposten sind für eine ganze Reihe von unterschiedlichen Kompostarten beschrieben worden. Dazu gehören Komposte aus der getrennten Sammlung organischer Abfälle. Insbesondere Grünabfallkomposte aus Baum- und Strauchschnittsammlungen verfügen über vorzügliche Qualitäten, da sie in Substraten für gärtnerische Kulturen wegen ihrer geringen Salz- und Nährstoffgehalte besonders gut einzusetzen sind. Grünabfallkomposte zeigen fungistatische Effekt gegenüber Erregern aus der Klasse der Oomyceten. Vielfach wiesen die Komposte hohe Anteile von potentiellen Antagonisten auf (Pseudomonas spp., Trichoderma spp. Actinomyceten) und zeigten hohe mikrobielle Aktivitäten, die eng mit den suppressiven Effekten korreliert haben. Die bisher vor allem unter Modellbedingungen erzielten Ergebnisse sollten im Rahmen eines 3 jährigen Projekte auf ihre Praxiseignung überprüft werden (gefördert vom BMVEL, Projektträger Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung). Spezifisch für den Einsatz im Gartenbau produzierte Kompostprodukte wurden auf ihre suppressiven Effekte gegenüber bodenbürtigen Schaderregern untersucht (Pythium spp., Phytophthora spp. und Fusarium oxysporum). Neben vier ökologisch geführten Gartenbaubetrieben waren zwei Erdenwerke als Antragsteller mit den Schwerpunkten Topfkräuter, Ziergehölze und Zierpflanzen beteiligt

Archetypal games generate diverse models of power, conflict, and cooperation

Interdependence takes many forms. We show how three patterns of power generate diverse models for understanding dynamics and transformations in social-ecological systems. Archetypal games trace pathways that go beyond a focus on a few social dilemmas to recognize and understand diversity and complexity in a landscape of social situations, including families of coordination and defection problems. We apply the extended topology of two-person two-choice (2 × 2) games to derive simple archetypes of interdependence that generate models with overlapping opportunities and challenges for collective action. Simplifying payoff matrices by equalizing outcome ranks (making ties to show indifference among outcomes) yields three archetypal games that are ordinally equivalent to payoff structures for independence, coordination, and exchange, as identified by interdependence theory in social psychology. These three symmetric patterns of power combine to make an asymmetric archetype for zero-sum conflict and further structures of power and dependence. Differentiating the ranking of outcomes (breaking ties) transforms these primal archetypes into more complex configurations, including intermediate archetypes for synergy, compromise, convention, rivalry, and advantage. Archetypal models of interdependence, and the pathways through which they generate diverse situations, could help to understand institutional diversity and potential transformations in social-ecological systems, to distinguish between convergent and divergent collective action problems for organizations, and to clarify elementary patterns of power in governance

Reihenapplikation von Komposten zur Kontrolle bodenbürtiger Krankheiten – technische Lösungen für Kartoffeln und Leguminosen

In principal suppressive effects with composts on soilborne diseases are well known. In practise, however, a targeted utilisation is not common due to technical constraints. The more precise composts are applied at the site of action the more effective they are as shown in potatoes to control Rhizoctonia solani with a strip application of composts compared to broadcast application. Similar effects were achieved in peas. Therefore, dosage tools were developed for the use in potato planting machines and sowing machines for grain legumes. It was shown with defined composts (yard waste composts with size fraction <10 mm, 30-40 % humidity) that the developed tools will provide exact longitudinal and lateral application

Ökologische Jung- und Zierpflanzenproduktion: Herstellung und Einsatz komposthaltiger Pflanzsubstrate

Erwünscht sind im ökologischen Gartenbau biologisch aktive Substrate mit einem möglichst niedrigen Torfgehalt. Qualitätskomposte übernehmen hier die tragende Rolle. Das Merkblatt informiert über die Anforderungen, die an Ökosubstrate und Zuschlagstoffe - allen voran Kompost - gestellt werden und sagt, worauf bei Herstellung und Einsatz geachtet werden muss