Continuing Professional Development and Farm Business Performance

Economic and social pressures are transforming farm businesses and the structure of the agricultural industry, consequently it is presumed that farm management skills are under intense pressure. This creates a need for effective interaction between knowledge management and the actions taken by farm decision makers. However a definition of “successful farm business performance” is not easy to find and this, combined with literature that deals with managerial tasks in isolation, does not provide a clear picture for the farm manager pursuing self development. Farm businesses vary considerably in their attributes and resource base and the plethora of measurable factors mean that the manager needs to be able to identify what to measure and why on his own farm. In the UK it appears that most of the measures used in farming do not take into account the customer or human factors alluded to in other industries. Development of the skills and abilities of the decision makers to utilise techniques, interpret measures and relate them to their own business needs is increasingly important. The preliminary investigations described in this paper indicate that farmers and farm managers are aware of business management techniques but do not appear to integrate them fully into their own businesses.Farm Management, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

The Heart Is an Early Target of Anthrax Lethal Toxin in Mice: A Protective Role for Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase (nNOS)

Anthrax lethal toxin (LT) induces vascular insufficiency in experimental animals through unknown mechanisms. In this study, we show that neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) deficiency in mice causes strikingly increased sensitivity to LT, while deficiencies in the two other NOS enzymes (iNOS and eNOS) have no effect on LT-mediated mortality. The increased sensitivity of nNOS−/− mice was independent of macrophage sensitivity to toxin, or cytokine responses, and could be replicated in nNOS-sufficient wild-type (WT) mice through pharmacological inhibition of the enzyme with 7-nitroindazole. Histopathological analyses showed that LT induced architectural changes in heart morphology of nNOS−/− mice, with rapid appearance of novel inter-fiber spaces but no associated apoptosis of cardiomyocytes. LT-treated WT mice had no histopathology observed at the light microscopy level. Electron microscopic analyses of LT-treated mice, however, revealed striking pathological changes in the hearts of both nNOS−/− and WT mice, varying only in severity and timing. Endothelial/capillary necrosis and degeneration, inter-myocyte edema, myofilament and mitochondrial degeneration, and altered sarcoplasmic reticulum cisternae were observed in both LT-treated WT and nNOS−/− mice. Furthermore, multiple biomarkers of cardiac injury (myoglobin, cardiac troponin-I, and heart fatty acid binding protein) were elevated in LT-treated mice very rapidly (by 6 h after LT injection) and reached concentrations rarely reported in mice. Cardiac protective nitrite therapy and allopurinol therapy did not have beneficial effects in LT-treated mice. Surprisingly, the potent nitric oxide scavenger, carboxy-PTIO, showed some protective effect against LT. Echocardiography on LT-treated mice indicated an average reduction in ejection fraction following LT treatment in both nNOS−/− and WT mice, indicative of decreased contractile function in the heart. We report the heart as an early target of LT in mice and discuss a protective role for nNOS against LT-mediated cardiac damage

Key mechanisms governing resolution of lung inflammation

Innate immunity normally provides excellent defence against invading microorganisms. Acute inflammation is a form of innate immune defence and represents one of the primary responses to injury, infection and irritation, largely mediated by granulocyte effector cells such as neutrophils and eosinophils. Failure to remove an inflammatory stimulus (often resulting in failed resolution of inflammation) can lead to chronic inflammation resulting in tissue injury caused by high numbers of infiltrating activated granulocytes. Successful resolution of inflammation is dependent upon the removal of these cells. Under normal physiological conditions, apoptosis (programmed cell death) precedes phagocytic recognition and clearance of these cells by, for example, macrophages, dendritic and epithelial cells (a process known as efferocytosis). Inflammation contributes to immune defence within the respiratory mucosa (responsible for gas exchange) because lung epithelia are continuously exposed to a multiplicity of airborne pathogens, allergens and foreign particles. Failure to resolve inflammation within the respiratory mucosa is a major contributor of numerous lung diseases. This review will summarise the major mechanisms regulating lung inflammation, including key cellular interplays such as apoptotic cell clearance by alveolar macrophages and macrophage/neutrophil/epithelial cell interactions. The different acute and chronic inflammatory disease states caused by dysregulated/impaired resolution of lung inflammation will be discussed. Furthermore, the resolution of lung inflammation during neutrophil/eosinophil-dominant lung injury or enhanced resolution driven via pharmacological manipulation will also be considered

The implications of rural perceptions of water scarcity on differential adaptation behaviour in Rajasthan, India

Water scarcity is one of the most critical issues facing agriculture today. To understand how people manage the risk of water scarcity and growing pressures of increased climate variability, exploring perceptions of risk and how these perceptions feed into response behaviour and willingness to adapt is critical. This paper revisits existing frameworks that conceptualise perceptions of environmental risk and decision-making, and uses empirical evidence from an in-depth study conducted in Rajasthan, India, to emphasise how individual and collective memories, and experience of past extreme events shape current definitions and future expectations of climatic risks. In doing so, we demonstrate the value of recognising the role of local perceptions of water scarcity (and how they vary between and within households) in constructing social vulnerability. We also discuss the implications of these perceptions of risk when understanding and incentivising local adaptation pathways

Perspectives on community representation within the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative: experiences from south-east Madagascar

This article critically examines the nature and quality of governance in community representation and civil society engagement in the context of trans-national large-scale mining, drawing on experiences in the Anosy Region of south-east Madagascar. An exploration of functional relationships between government, mining business and civil society stakeholders reveals an equivocal legitimacy of certain civil society representatives, created by state manipulation, which contributes to community disempowerment. The appointment of local government officials, rather than election, creates a hierarchy of upward dependencies and a culture where the majority of officials express similar views and political alliances. As a consequence, community resistance is suppressed. Voluntary mechanisms such as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) advocate community stakeholder engagement in decision making processes as a measure to achieve public accountability. In many developing countries, where there is a lack of transparency and high levels of corruption, the value of this engagement, however, is debatable. Findings from this study indicate that the power relationships which exist between stakeholders in the highly lucrative mining industry override efforts to achieve "good governance" through voluntary community engagement. The continuing challenge lies in identifying where the responsibility sits in order to address this power struggle to achieve fair representation

Continuing Professional Development and Farm Business Performance

Economic and social pressures are transforming farm businesses and the structure of the agricultural industry, consequently it is presumed that farm management skills are under intense pressure. This creates a need for effective interaction between knowledge management and the actions taken by farm decision makers. However a definition of “successful farm business performance” is not easy to find and this, combined with literature that deals with managerial tasks in isolation, does not provide a clear picture for the farm manager pursuing self development. Farm businesses vary considerably in their attributes and resource base and the plethora of measurable factors mean that the manager needs to be able to identify what to measure and why on his own farm. In the UK it appears that most of the measures used in farming do not take into account the customer or human factors alluded to in other industries. Development of the skills and abilities of the decision makers to utilise techniques, interpret measures and relate them to their own business needs is increasingly important. The preliminary investigations described in this paper indicate that farmers and farm managers are aware of business management techniques but do not appear to integrate them fully into their own businesses

Theory of Reasoned Action and Its Integration with Economic Modelling in Linking Farmers' Attitudes and Adoption Behavior - An Illustration from the Analysis of the Uptake of Livestock Technologies in the South West of England

The behavioural intentions of a sample of livestock farmers in the south-west of England towards new technologies were analysed within a Theory of Reasoned Action (TORA) framework, in order to explore reasons for the apparently low rate at which research-based knowledge is being transferred to the livestock industry. Correlations between components of attitudes (outcome beliefs and evaluations), subjective norms (normative beliefs and motivation to comply) and behavioural intentions were integrated with Positivistic Mathematical Programming (PosMP) to create a set of farm type models, which can predict the potential rate and equilibrium level of uptake of different kinds of technologies. Data relating to techniques for oestrus detection in dairy cows are used to illustrate the analysis and to show how this approach can help improve the targeting of knowledge and technology transfer strategies. Linking the Theory of Reasoned Action findings with the Positivistic Mathematical Programming approach identified where there is a realistic prospect for increasing or accelerating the uptake of a technology, thus helping an agency charged with knowledge and technology transfer to decide where investment in communication is likely to pay off. In the case of MDC observation times, even a 20% change in attitude score among hill and upland dairy farmers would have minimal impact on the numbers adopting; while a similar change among mixed farms would lead to a greater increase. Targeting mixed farms with this particular technology would make more sense than promoting it among upland farmers. The overall findings reinforce the importance of understanding and addressing the prevailing beliefs and values within the objective population

Theory of Reasoned Action and Its Integration with Economic Modelling in Linking Farmers' Attitudes and Adoption Behavior - An Illustration from the Analysis of the Uptake of Livestock Technologies in the South West of England

The behavioural intentions of a sample of livestock farmers in the south-west of England towards new technologies were analysed within a Theory of Reasoned Action (TORA) framework, in order to explore reasons for the apparently low rate at which research-based knowledge is being transferred to the livestock industry. Correlations between components of attitudes (outcome beliefs and evaluations), subjective norms (normative beliefs and motivation to comply) and behavioural intentions were integrated with Positivistic Mathematical Programming (PosMP) to create a set of farm type models, which can predict the potential rate and equilibrium level of uptake of different kinds of technologies. Data relating to techniques for oestrus detection in dairy cows are used to illustrate the analysis and to show how this approach can help improve the targeting of knowledge and technology transfer strategies. Linking the Theory of Reasoned Action findings with the Positivistic Mathematical Programming approach identified where there is a realistic prospect for increasing or accelerating the uptake of a technology, thus helping an agency charged with knowledge and technology transfer to decide where investment in communication is likely to pay off. In the case of MDC observation times, even a 20% change in attitude score among hill and upland dairy farmers would have minimal impact on the numbers adopting; while a similar change among mixed farms would lead to a greater increase. Targeting mixed farms with this particular technology would make more sense than promoting it among upland farmers. The overall findings reinforce the importance of understanding and addressing the prevailing beliefs and values within the objective population.Livestock Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,