Knowledge about and Knowledge with: Contributions from Feminist Research to Knowledge Co-Production for Pastoral Systems

Globally, the gender dynamics of rangeland social-ecological systems have received scant attention. Further, research paradigms, methods and methodologies that leave little room for equitable engagement with research participants and genuine action-oriented research-practice partnerships dominate in pastoralist/rangeland studies. Our research is informed by a feminist philosophy of science and based on decolonial and feminist political ecology studies that focus on gendered science and knowledge production. Feminist research calls for reflection on who produces knowledge and how such knowledge is used and shared. Feminist practices such as reciprocity, care, and positionality, cultivate awareness of the power dynamics embedded in the research process and motivate us as researchers to counteract asymmetrical or extractive relationships when we identify them. In this paper we first introduce the principles of our feminist research, and then reflect on our experience as researchers and as activists or participants in the Spanish and Catalan networks of women shepherdesses and livestock operators

Adaptive, Multi-Paddock, Rotational Grazing Management: An Experimental, Ranch-Scale Assessment of Effects on Multiple Ecosystem Services

Decisions on how to move livestock in space and time are central to rangeland management. Despite decades of small-scale research, substantial uncertainty exists regarding the relative importance of cattle stocking rates per se, versus the movement of cattle in both space and time, in achieving desired vegetation and livestock outcomes at scales relevant to livestock producers. We report on a ranch-scale experiment comparing effects of collaborative, adaptive, multi-paddock, rotational management (CARM) versus more traditional, season-long, continuous rangeland management (TRM) on perennial grass density and production, cattle performance, and wildlife habitat, while holding the annual stocking rate the same in both systems. We collaborated with stakeholders to develop an adaptive grazing management plan, collected pre-treatment data in 2013, and implemented treatments during 2014 – 2020. Results for 2014 – 2018 were reported by Augustine et al. (2020); here we report on two additional years of results, covering a 7-year period of treatments from 2014 – 2020. With two additional years of measurements, we found no significant difference in total forage production in CARM vs. TRM treatments, averaged across all soil types in the experiment. In one year, we found that CARM increased forage production on loamy soils and decreased forage production on alkaline soils, but these differences were minor and in opposite directions, resulting in no net overall effect. Furthermore, we found that adaptive, rotational grazing management substantially reduced livestock weight gains in each of the first 6 years of the experiment, when cattle were managed as a single, large herd occupying each paddock sequentially. Across the 6 years, cattle weight gain averaged 15% lower in CARM vs. TRM. In the 7th year, stocking density in CARM was reduced 50% by giving cattle access to two paddocks at a time. This year also coincided with a drought. Under these conditions, cattle weight gains were identical in both treatments. Results emphasize the importance of replicated controls in assessing grazing management effects. Even in heterogeneous landscapes where livestock are moved adaptively among paddocks to match seasonal patterns of forage growth, such management may not lead to desired outcomes for vegetation and livestock

A uvbyβ survey of northern-hemisphere active binaries II: the m1 deficiency

New photometric observations, using the uvby and Hβ systems of 72 northern-hemisphere active binaries are discussed in order to explain the main characteristics of their spectral light intensity distribution. Values of the parameter δm1 range from 0.0 to 0.3 mag, which cannot be explained in terms of metal underabundance alone. The existence of some mechanism, responsible for such a colour-index anomaly, is thus suggested and is found to be in close relation with the involved degree of solar-type activity

On the influence of the proportion of PEO in thermally controlled phase segregation of copoly(ether-imide)s for gas separation

Producción CientíficaA complete series of aliphatic aromatic copoly(etherimide)s, based on an aromatic dianhydride (BPDA), an aromatic diamine (ODA) and a diamino terminated poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO2000) of 2000 g/mol molecular weight, using different PEO contents, has been synthesized. Cast films of these copolymers have been thermally treated and characterized by FTIR-ATR, DSC, TGA and SAXS. It has been found that there is a direct relationship between phase segregation and permeability for increasing treatment temperatures. Results show that permeability is higher when PEO content increases in the copolymer. Selectivity for O2/N2 and CO2/CH4 gas pairs follows the same tendency, while those for CO2/N2, and CH4/N2 give higher selectivities for intermediate (30-40 %) PEO contents. Especially promising are the results for these two pairs of gases because materials with high permeability with high selectivity can be obtained. The Maxwell model has been applied to predict permeability (for CO2, CH4, O2 and N2) from known data for pure BPDA-ODA and neat PEO and it has been found that assuming PEO as the dispersed phase, the use of this equation is adequate for percentages up to approximately a 40 % over which we should assume that it is the aromatic part of the copolymer which plays the role of dispersed phase.Junta de Castilla y León (programa de apoyo a proyectos de investigación – Ref. VA302U13

Influence of the PEO length in gas separation properties of segregating aromaticaliphatic copoly(ether-imide)s

Producción CientíficaA complete series of aliphatic-aromatic copoly(ether-imide)s has been synthesized in this work. All these copoly(ether-imide)s had the same structure, BPDA-PEOX-ODA, but different lengths of PEO in the final polymer. These copolymers have been thermally treated and characterized by several techniques. A direct relationship between the temperature of treatment, the improvement of phase segregation, and permeability has been demonstrated. The Maxwell model has been applied to predict permeability (for CO2, CH4 and N2) and it has been found that when the segregated PEO can be considered to be amorphous – it is at high temperatures when crystallinity disappears – the model fits reasonably well. This confirms that the aliphatic and aromatic portions of the copolymer behave approximately as a bi-phase of disperse domains within a continuous matrix. Results show that permeability is higher when the PEO chains are longer – when there is no crystallinity, or any kind of internal bonds, distorting the results – while selectivity doesn´t depend on the PEO length in the copolymer. Remarkable are the results for the CO2/N2 gas pair, with selectivity-versus-permeability very near to the Robeson‘s upper bound at 30 ºC and even in closer proximity to the corresponding trade off line for higher permeation temperatures.Junta de Castilla y León (programa de apoyo a proyectos de investigación – Ref. VA248U13

Reflexivity, embodiment, and ethics of care in rangeland political ecology: reflections of three feminist researchers on the experience of transdisciplinary knowledge co-production

Although there is a growing interest in transdisciplinary knowledge co-production approaches applied to rangeland political ecology, the research paradigms and methodologies still dominating this field of research leave little room for equitable engagement with research participants and genuine action-oriented research. In this article, we provide a reflection on new practices grounded in feminist studies of science and care ethic literature to orient transgressive and engaged transdisciplinary political rangeland ecology research. Feminist epistemologies call for reflection on who produces knowledge and how such knowledge is used and shared. Feminist practices, such as reflexivity, embodiment, reciprocity, and care, cultivate awareness of the power dynamics embedded in the research process and motivate researchers to counteract asymmetrical or extractive relationships when we identify them. We first introduce the scholarship that inspires key principles of our feminist research approach and then reflect on our experiences as researchers and as activists working with Spanish and Catalan networks of women pastoralists. Three research questions guide our reflective process: (i) how can feminist theories of knowledge co-production contribute to rangeland political ecology; (ii) how can feminist methodologies be applied in practice so that collaboration between women pastoralists, their organizations, and researchers is mutually reinforcing, care-full, and action-oriented; and (iii) what are the challenges and limitations of our experiences to foster transformation and emancipation in knowledge co-production processes

Toward a holistic understanding of pastoralism

Pastoralism is globally significant in social, environmental and economic terms. However, it experiences crises rooted in misconceptions and poor interdisciplinary understanding, while being largely overlooked in international sustainability forums and agendas. Here we propose a transdisciplinary research approach to understand pastoralist transitions using i) social, economic and environmental dimensions, ii) diverse geographic contexts and scales to capture emerging properties, allowing for cross-system comparisons, and iii) timescales from the distant past to the present. We provide specific guidelines to develop indicators for this approach, within a social-ecological resilience analytical framework to understand change. Distinct systems undergo similar transitions over time, crossing critical thresholds and then either collapsing or recovering. Such an integrated view of multidimensional interactions improves understanding of possible tipping points, thereby supporting better-informed decision-making. The need for a paradigm shift in pastoralism science and policy is pressing. This research approach, including participatory methods, can provide the solutions urgently needed.Peer reviewe

Una Experiencia de iniciación al paralelismo en segundo curso del Grado de Ingeniería Informática

En este artículo se analiza una experiencia de introducción del paralelismo de forma temprana en el Grado de Ingeniería Informática. En la experiencia participan cuatro asignaturas de segundo curso, impartidas por tres departamentos distintos y con la colaboración de un centro de computación. En este curso se realiza la primera aproximación de los alumnos al paralelismo, y se pretende realizar un acercamiento coordinado y práctico a diferentes materias.SUMMARY -- This work presents an experience of early introduction to parallelism in the Degree on Computing Engineering. Four courses of the second year participate in the experience and also a computing centre. The courses are tought by three departments. In the second year the students are introduced to parallelism for the first time, and with our experience we intend to approach different topics of parallelism in a coordinated and practical way.Peer Reviewe

Rapid Submillimeter Brightenings Associated with a Large Solar Flare

We present high time resolution observations of Active Region 8910 obtained simultaneously at 212 and 405 GHz during a large Hα flare, which produced a soft X-ray class X1.1 event. Data were obtained with the new solar submillimeter telescope recently installed at the El Leoncito Observatory to explore this poorly known part of the solar emission spectrum. A small slow submillimeter enhancement (≤300 sfu) was associated to bulk emissions at X-rays, Hα, and microwaves. The event exhibited numerous submillimeter-wave 100-300 ms duration spikes, the larger ones with fluxes on the order of 220 and 500 sfu (±20%) at 212 and 405 GHz, respectively. A dramatic increase in the incidence rate of submillimeter spikes sets in as a new large loop system appears in AR 8910, and X-ray emission increases nearly 1 hr before the large flare. The brightening incidence rate (~20 per minute) correlates well with the large flare light curves at X-rays and Hα. The submillimeter spikes may be associated to microflares, waves, or quakes in flaring active regions.Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísica