How Does the Limited Base Acre Provision in the 2008 Farm Act Affect Small Farms?

Under the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Farm Act), U.S. farms with 10 or fewer base acres became ineligible to receive Direct and Countercyclical Payment (DCP) or Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program payments(Section 1101(d) and 1302(d)) from USDA. Limited resource and socially disadvantaged owners are exempt from this “base 10” provision. Eliminating payments on farms with 10 or fewer base acres reduces payments made by USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) and the cost of administering the DCP and ACRE programs. We examine the characteristics of the farms affected by the limited base acre provision and answer the question: How does the provision affect small farms?US Farm Policy, Limited Base Acres Provision, 2008 Farm Act, Agricultural and Food Policy,

The body, health, and healing in alternative and integrated medicine: An ethnography of homeopathy in South London

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University, 07/02/2003.During the recent exponential rise in the use of alternative medicines (AM) in the West and increasing integration into the health service, little research has been done on AM in the context in which it is practised, or over time to look at changing belief systems. This thesis provides an anthropologically informed analysis of one alternative therapy in depth - homeopathy- explored from the multiple perspectives of biomedical and lay homeopaths, users and students of homeopathy. The ethnography comprised 18 months participant observation in 4 settings in south London: the surgery of a homeopathic GP; a homeopathy adult education class; a vaccination support group; and a low cost homeopathy clinic for victims of crime. The fieldwork is contextualised by a critique of the existing research on users of AM; a review of the history and politics of integration of AM and a review of anthropological conceptions of the body and health. Analysis of the empirical data reveals different groups of users of homeopathy with differing beliefs around health, healing and the body. 'Pragmatic users' had a normative biomedical view of health. 'Committed users' moved away from the normative biomedical position and were enculturated into a different view of health and the body through interaction with lay homeopaths. Inherent in these practitioners' and users' beliefs and practices were a number of oppositions to science-based medicine. Prolonged fieldwork enabled the changing views of users to be charted as they moved from biomedical to alternative views. The medical homeopath stayed allied to many biomedical beliefs about the body and health, partly as a result of general practice constraints of time, colleagues and training. Tensions between his biomedical and homeopathic practice lead to paradoxical behaviours that confused his patients. These findings problematise the notion of integration, of trying to incorporate two opposing ideologies into one system. Implications for alternative medicine more widely are discussed.NHS Executive London Regio

A survey of the coverage, use and application of ancient woodland indicator lists in the UK

This report presents the results of a survey into the current use of ancient woodland indicator species lists in the UK. The idea of using species particularly vascular plants as indicators of ancient woodlands can be dated back to the 1970s and the work of Peterken. Since then a wide number of lists of Ancient Woodland Indicators (AWIs)have been produced, some based on expert opinions, some utilising field surveys, others adapted from existing lists. Recently developed lists, e.g. the lists for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have been based on either robust reviews of existing lists, and/or expert opinion and/or field surveys and statistical analysis. Concerns however have been expressed regarding the use of lists and these concerns appear to be supported by the uncritical use of indicator species in recent planning inquiries, e.g. not recognising that indicators are indicators and considering them to be the key value of a woodland. A survey was undertaken of relevant individuals working in biological record centres, local authorities and key agencies across the UK. The survey sought to identify what lists of Ancient Woodland Indicators are currently in use, where possible to determine the methods used in developing these lists. The survey also sought to assess the awareness of ancient woodland indicator lists and review the ways in which these were used. A total of 419 questionnaires were sent out; a response rate of 11% was obtained. Follow up phone conversations were held with key individuals involved in developing ancient woodland indicator lists. Responses were received from all counties excluding: Buckinghamshire, Cheshire, Essex, Huntingdonshire, Middlesex, Northamptonshire, Staffordshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire. In addition, the Lancashire respondent stated there was no AWI list for Lancashire. The key findings of the survey were: • There is a wide variety of lists of Ancient Woodland Indicators lists available covering most of the UK. • Most individuals using indicator lists are unaware of the methods used to produce the lists and therefore of their robustness. Some key stakeholders are unaware of the existence of indicator lists in their area. • Attitudes to ancient woodland indicator lists are variable, as is their use. • Few lists use species thresholds or weightings in determining whether a site is ancient, several lists are currently under review. • There are over 200 species listed on the various Ancient Woodland Indicators lists, few species are common to more than a quarter of the lists

Unsupervised Time Series Extraction from Controller Area Network Payloads

This paper introduces a method for unsupervised tokenization of Controller Area Network (CAN) data payloads using bit level transition analysis and a greedy grouping strategy. The primary goal of this proposal is to extract individual time series which have been concatenated together before transmission onto a vehicle's CAN bus. This process is necessary because the documentation for how to properly extract data from a network may not always be available; passenger vehicle CAN configurations are protected as trade secrets. At least one major manufacturer has also been found to deliberately misconfigure their documented extraction methods. Thus, this proposal serves as a critical enabler for robust third-party security auditing and intrusion detection systems which do not rely on manufacturers sharing confidential information.Comment: 2018 IEEE 88th Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC2018-Fall

Field surveys for ancient woodlands: Issues and Approaches

Field surveys of ancient woodlands and potential ancient woodlands can be undertaken for a variety of purposes, including: to help identify an Ancient Woodland, investigation into existing designated ancient woodlands, gathering information for site management and conservation decision making, assessing potential impacts of development, and making decisions on restoration etc. There is a variety of features in a woodland which can indicate whether it is an ancient woodland and can inform on the history and current ecological/historical value of the site. Many surveys of potential ancient woodlands have tended to focus on ancient woodland indicator species (AWIs), particularly Ancient Woodland Vascular Plants (AWVPs). Surveys which just focus on such indicators miss a lot of historical, archaeological and species information which can help confirm woodland continuity (i.e. that it is an ancient woodland) and/or identify features of historical and conservation value. There is a wide range of field survey techniques which can be used in ancient woodlands and a need to bring together the archaeological and ecological surveys in a single guide, hence this document. There are three broad types of feature to look for in an ancient woodland: • Ancient woodland vascular plant indicators; • Tree shape and form; and • Surface and buried archaeology. This report sets out survey methods for these features and advises on what to look for. Many important ecological and archaeological features can only be easily found at specific times of the year and surveying these features requires specific technical expertise and experience. Where surveys are undertaken outside the optimal period of time and/or are undertaken by individuals without the appropriate training and surveying expertise, the results should be treated with caution. Ideally several types of surveys of a woodland should be undertaken at different times of year to maximise the evidence collected and the robustness of this evidence. Where this is not possible, limitations in the surveys need to be stated and recognised in any analysis. In most cases field surveys should be combined with archive surveys (of site history, previous surveys etc.); this is particularly important when identifying ancient woodlands

The identification of ancient woodland: demonstrating antiquity and continuity - issues and approaches

This report presents an overview of the various types of evidence which can be used to determine whether a woodland site is likely to be designated as ‘ancient’ and discusses how these can be used as part of the decision making process. It has been commissioned by the Woodland Trust as part of their work promoting the value of ancient woodlands and getting the importance of such sites recognised through the planning process. An ancient woodland is defined as a woodland which has been continuously wooded from before 1600 AD. The evidence used to determine whether a site is ancient woodland is therefore: • evidence which indicates the continuity of woodland cover at a site from before 1600. • evidence which indicates that woodland was established post-1600 on a site. • evidence of a gap in woodland cover and the presence of other land uses, e.g. farmland, at that site since 1600. The robustness of the evidence sources varies, modern sources are often more robust and easier to verify but only demonstrate woodland cover in recent times. Care needs to be taken with all sources in their interpretation and use. Guidance has been provided regarding some of the potential limitations of the various types of evidence and recommendations have been made. General recommendations when seeking to identify/confirm an ancient woodland: • Ideally multiple sources of evidence should be obtained. • The reliability of the evidence used should be considered in the analysis. • A wide range of evidence sources should be consulted. • It needs to be recognised that absence of reference to a woodland on a map or in a document is not necessarily evidence of the absence of a woodland at that site. • In looking for evidence to determine whether a site is an ancient woodland it is as important to look for evidence that there was another land use at this site (i.e. evidence of a gap in woodland cover as shown by farmland on a map) as it is to look for evidence that there has been a continuity of woodland cover. • Field based evidence should normally be used to support map and archive evidence. However, ancient woodland plants can aid in ascribing antiquity where archive evidence alone is insufficient. • The evidence used to support the designation of a woodland as ancient or not needs to be clearly stated. As indicated previously, evaluation of the historical and other evidence for a site being an ancient woodland or not is a matter of judgement. Much of the evidence used is historic and not scientific, yet a rigorous scientific approach needs to be taken in determining the status of a possible ancient woodland site. It is recommended that in the near future further investigations into developing a more rigorous method for identifying and verifying the status of a site as an ancient woodland should be investigated. It is also recommended that the statutory agencies consider the development of detailed advice to consultants, planners and other workers involved in decisions relation to identify or potential ancient woodlands. It is hoped that this document may aid in this development

Stratigraphy and sedimentology of the northern part of the upper Gazelle Formation, eastern Klamath Mountains, northern California

The Gazelle Formation of the eastern Klamath Mountains constitutes a large part of the fragmentary record of Devonian paleogeography in northern California and is the only record of Devonian tectonics and sedimentation in the Yreka Terrane. The upper Gazelle, which overlies melange, is at least 1000 feet thick and composed of four laterally continuous sandstone units that are interbedded with shale, siltstone, siliceous mudstone, and chert. Very fine-grained sandstones, siltstones, and mudstones exhibit a progressive sequence of sedimentary structures indicative of deposition by low-density turbidity currents. The sandstones are green lithic graywackes composed of approximately 15% quartz, 30% plagioclase, and 55% volcanic lithic fragments. Geochemical analyses indicate that the sandstones were derived from an Ordovician-Silurian volcanoplutonic terrane located near an active continental margin. A retroarc successor basin model and a trench slope basin model are proposed to explain the tectonic setting of the Gazelle Formation