A comparative cost-effectiveness analysis of biodiversity indicators in grassland farming systems

Farm Management, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Towards a cost-effectiveness analysis of the measurement of biodiversity indicators

A comprehensive quantification of biodiversity in farming systems would require a very significant amount of work (and funds) even for a small area. Therefore, biodiversity indicators are needed to solve the problem of the measurement feasibility. Even though the issue of cost and effectiveness is central for the evaluation of the indicators, only the latter is discussed in detail in the scientific literature. This work presents a cost analysis based on the direct gathering of records from a farm-scale biodiversity survey (EU-FP7, BioBio - “Indicators for biodiversity in organic and low-input farming systems”) where the analysis of costs is part of the project. It is a simple method for comparing different indicators by their ratio of cost/effectiveness. Here we present the results from the French case study (Gascony Hills, Midi-Pyrenees Region).biodiversity, cost-effectiveness, indicator costs, Agricultural and Food Policy, Q2,

Identifying research priorities for the competitiveness of arable crops

EU agriculture and arable crops in particular are suffering from competitiveness deficits compared to other producers in the world economy. One potential strategy to cope with competitiveness challenges is to focus on research and technological innovation. The objective of this paper is to present the results of the project EUROCROP (Agricultural research for improving arable crop competitiveness – EUROCROP - http://www.eurocrop.cetiom.fr/), aimed at the identification of research priorities for arable crop competitiveness. The project adopts a definition of competitiveness based on a combination of economic competitiveness and social/environmental sustainability. Furthermore, the project utilises both a crop chain and a horizontal issue perspective, and develops research priorities through the interaction of the scientific level (expert group approach) and the stakeholder level (scenario analysis). The main result of the project is the elaboration of approximately eighty research topics. Among these, the main areas for research identified are A: Risk management and adaptation of arable farming; B: Innovation in cropping systems for high environmental and economic performances; C: Limiting the impact of arable crop cropping systems on green-house gas emissions; D: Better understanding of public concern about arable crop production and products and communication with global and local societies. The project confirms that a number of well established research topics retain their importance (e.g. yield improvement, plant protection). However, they require cautious coordination with an increasingly complex system of short term priorities.Arable crops, crop chain, competitiveness, research priorities, foresight, Agricultural and Food Policy,

At Home in the World?: The Ornamental Life of Sailors in Victorian Sailortown

This article explores the representation of British sailortown and merchant sailors onshore in the context of their representation in Victorian writing and contemporary journalism. It proposes that sailortown functioned as an urban setting which offered the traveling or returning sailor an important sense of homeliness—a homeliness that was paradoxically based on the promotion of a collective and worldly belonging. This sense of “worldliness” was articulated through aspects of ornamental material culture ranging from sailortown's visual display of nautical and transnational symbols, to the interior arrangements of places of hospitality such as Sailors’ Homes, to sailors’ own forms of portable property. By thinking more closely about the relationship between the domestic and the global in the context of maritime culture, the article proposes that the ornamental features of the seafarer's life, in all its diverse manifestations, serves to reveal the paradoxes and rich ambivalences that underscore the situation of the nineteenth-century sailor onshore

Innovation in Multiple Networks and Networks of Networks: The Case of the Fruit Sector in Emilia‐Romagna

In the paper we examine the issue of food systems in which farms participate in multiple networks that, for their part, tend also to be members of networks of networks. The issue is addressed through a descriptive analysis of the fruit sector in Emilia‐Romagna (Italy). The farms in the area tend to join a different network for each product/product type. Innovation networks are embedded in commercialization or input provider networks, but separate (parallel) networks also exist, particularly for basic research activities. Networks of networks are largely a product of the cooperative system. The paper concludes by emphasising the need for further research in multiple networking strategies and the connection betweencommercialisation networks and innovation

Innovation in Multiple Networks and Networks of Networks: The Case of the Fruit Sector in Emilia\u2010Romagna

In the paper we examine the issue of food systems in which farms participate in multiple networks that, for their part, tend also to be members of networks of networks. The issue is addressed through a descriptive analysis of the fruit sector in Emilia\u2010Romagna (Italy). The farms in the area tend to join a different network for each product/product type. Innovation networks are embedded in commercialization or input provider networks, but separate (parallel) networks also exist, particularly for basic research activities. Networks of networks are largely a product of the cooperative system. The paper concludes by emphasising the need for further research in multiple networking strategies and the connection between commercialisation networks and innovation

A plasma membrane H+ATPase gene is germinationinduced in wheat embryos

The expression pattern of a germination specific plasma membrane H+-ATPase was analyzed by RTPCR and in situ RNA hybridization methods. RT-PCR results revealed that germination specific plasma membrane H+-ATPase accumulation was detectable in all organs and tissues of germinating wheat embryos. H+-ATPase expression was not observed in dry wheat embryos and in immature wheat embryos. In situ RNA hybridization indicated that germination specific plasma membrane H+-ATPase gene expression was associated with all organs of germinating wheat tissues. The accumulation of H+- ATPase mRNA was more heavily on the cells of vascular bundles and epidermal cells of coleoptiles.Since germination specific plasma membrane H+-ATPase gene was identified as a growth related gene, interest was focused on the activity of growth regulators (GA, IAA, ABA) and stress factors, NaCl and Mannitol, on H+-ATPase gene expression. The results indicated that there were not any dramatic changes in the accumulation of germination specific plasma membrane H+-ATPase gene in any case. More rigorous analysis is necessary to evaluate the effect of growth regulators on germination specific plasma membrane H+-ATPase

The Effect of Props on Story Retells in the Classroom

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effect of props on children’s narrative retells. Forty-two children in two comparable K/1 classrooms heard and practiced the same stories over eight weeks. This study found that the props had a positive effect on the children’s use of descriptive language, but there was no effect on the number of story grammar elements or cohesive devices used, nor for the length and complexity of the stories. Results support a balanced literacy program where children practice retelling stories with and without props