Hybridisation for versatile decision-making in game opponent AI

Hybridisation for versatile decision-making in game opponent A

Organic farm incomes in England and Wales 2001/02

Financial results from research work carried out for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) by the Organic Farming Research Unit at the IRS, UWA on the economic performance of organic farms in 2001/02 are presented in this report. A fundamental aim of this work is to assess the financial performance of organic farms differentiated by farm type, in order to inform DEFRA policy-making with respect to economics of organic farming, and to provide a basis for assessments by farmers, advisers and other interested parties of the farm-level implications of conversion to and continued organic farming. This research area builds on previous economics work on organic farming carried out by IRS, UWA (Project OF0190, covering 1995/961 to 1998/992). Here, data is shown for the 2001/02 financial year, which is the first of a series of three reports covering the financial performance of organic farm types including cropping, horticulture, lowland and LFA dairy, lowland and LFA cattle and sheep and mixed farming systems for 2001/02 up to 2003/04. In comparison with the earlier reports, there has been a significant improvement in the numbers of farms for which data have been obtained. Summarised and detailed financial input, output, income, liabilities and assets and some physical performance measures are presented based on current Farm Business Survey data collection and collation guidelines. The samples of organic farms per robust farm type are sufficiently large to give a reasonable level of confidence in the data; however, it should be noted that the organic farm samples are not statistically representative of their type, although the results can be seen as a reasonable indication of farm income levels for organic farms. An additional element of this work is the inclusion of comparable conventional farm data for the farm types shown. Each organic farm within this study was matched with the averaged results for a comparable cluster of conventional farms based on the resource endowment of individual organic farms. Broadly speaking, the parameters used to select comparable farm clusters included farm type, FBS region, LFA status, utilisable agricultural area, milk quota holding (where applicable) and farm business size. For each farm type, the results for each cluster were averaged and compared with the average for the individual organic farms. Overall, organic farms showed a similar or higher level of net farm income for all farm types compared to the conventional farms. The greatest differences were seen in the cropping, horticulture, LFA dairy and mixed farm types. Both organic and conventional lowland dairy types performed similarly. For management and investment income, only the organic lowland and LFA cattle and sheep farms showed a negative value. Conversely, the comparable conventional farm types showed a negative value with the exception of the lowland dairy farms. Gross margin data is presented for organic dairy herds including the top and bottom 5 performing herds. Cattle and sheep gross margins are shown for lowland and LFA farm types in addition to breeding pig gross margins. Crops shown include winter and spring wheat and barley, spring oats, beans and potatoes and a further five horticultural crops

Organic farm incomes in England and Wales 1999/00 and 2000/01

This report presents results from research work carried out for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) on the financial performance of organic farms for 1999/00 and 2000/01 financial years. The aim of the report is to collate financial data for organic farms differentiated by farm type, in order to provide continuity between previous studies (project code: OF 0190) on the economics of organic farming covering years 1995/96 to 1998/99 and new research work carried out by the Institute of Rural Sciences, UWA, to obtain financial information for organic farms for the period 2001/02 to 2003/04 (project code: OF 0189). The financial data in this report were not collected directly, but were derived from other DEFRA-funded studies. Data are from farms of varied sizes within the samples for each farm type and not always of adequate sample size. This was particularly the case for horticulture while other datasets mainly comprised five farms or more per farm type. A cautious approach is required when viewing smaller farm samples as it is not possible to draw conclusions on the organic sector from these results; but may permit observation of data trends for the particular set of farms within the sample. Where possible, to provide an idea of economic trends over time, continuous farm data for 1998/99 and in some cases for 2001/02 are shown alongside the 1999/00 and 2000/01 data. The report highlights results for organic cropping, horticulture, dairy, lowland and LFA cattle and sheep farms and one set of results for in-conversion dairy farms. Comparable conventional farm datasets are shown alongside some organic datasets for comparison. This was the case for both organic and in-conversion dairy farms and LFA and lowland cattle and sheep farms for 2000/01 datasets only. From this report, the financial data show that most farm types under organic management had positive net farm incomes (NFI) with the exception of the in-conversion dairy farm sample. Management and investment incomes (MII) were positive values for all farm types with the exception of lowland and LFA cattle and sheep farms from the FBS sample. The financial trends varied by farm type between 1999/00 and 2000/01 with the organic cropping farm sample experiencing over 60% reduction in NFI, whilst organic dairy and LFA cattle and sheep farm incomes increased at varying levels over the two years. For all farm types where comparable data are shown alongside the organic farm sample, the organic sample showed higher NFI and MII values with the exception of the in-conversion dairy farm sample where income values were lower than the comparable dataset. Gross margin data are presented for organic dairy herds, LFA suckler cows and finished beef stock and LFA breeding ewe flocks. Arable gross margins are shown for winter wheat, spring wheat, oats, beans and potatoes crops and horticultural data are available for potatoes, carrots, beetroot and calabrese

The emotional labour of doctoral criminological researchers

Embarking upon empirical qualitative research can be a daunting and emotional task, particularly for those who are new to research and for those who research vulnerable groups and emotive topics. Doctoral criminological researchers transect these realms, often making their research experiences acutely emotional and challenging. In addition, researchers must be able to perform emotional labour as an important part of their professional practice. Based on 30 semi-structured interviews, this is the first study to explicitly explore the emotional labour of criminological researchers. Using the lens of emotional labour, the performance and impact of undertaking qualitative data collection in doctoral research is examined. From the interview data, three main themes are discussed: emotional labour, the consequences of performing that emotional labour and coping mechanisms to deal with those consequences. The article concludes with recommendations around support and training for PhD candidates, their supervisors and the higher education sector more broadly

mGluR5 knockout mice exhibit normal conditioned place-preference to cocaine

Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) null mutant (-/-) mice have been reported to totally lack the reinforcing or locomotor stimulating effects of cocaine. We tested mGluR5 -/- and +/+ mice for their locomotor and conditioned place- preference response to cocaine. Unlike the previous finding, here we show that compared to mGluR5 +/+ mice, -/- mice exhibit no difference in the locomotor response to low to moderate doses of cocaine (10 or 20 mg/kg). A high dose of cocaine (40 mg/kg) resulted in a blunted rather than absent locomotor response. We tested mGluR5 -/- and +/+ mice for conditioned place-preference to cocaine and found no group differences at a conditioning dose of 10 mg/kg, suggesting normal conditioned rewarding properties of cocaine. These results differ substantially from Chiamulera et al. (2001) and replicates Olsen et al., (2010), who found normal cocaine place-preference in mGluR5 -/- mice at 5 mg/kg. Our results indicate mGluR5 receptors exert a modulatory rather than necessary role in cocaine-induced locomotor stimulation and exert no effect on the conditioned rewarding effects of cocaine

Views from the students’ desks: How students experience and comprehend demand and difficulty in GCSE mathematics examination questions

This study investigates students’ understanding and experience of factors that create “demand” and “difficulty” in GCSE mathematics examination questions. Around 600,000 students in England take GCSE examinations each year. The results of these high-stakes assessments affect students’ future prospects, as well as schools’ status and recruitment. The performance of the examination system is, therefore, highly significant, but the effective working of its assessment methods lacks systematic academic scrutiny. Examiners manipulate factors relating to the “demand” (i.e. cognitive load) of examination questions, and these questions are experienced at different levels of “difficulty” by students. If the link between “demand” and “difficulty” cannot accurately be predicted by examiners, this poses a threat to the validity of inferences made from examination results. Existent research into demand and difficulty in examination questions has predominantly focused on the work of examiners: students’ voices have not been heard. In this study, questionnaires and focus group interviews gathered the views of 224 secondary school GCSE mathematics students in 5 comprehensive schools in North East England. Reflexive thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2022) was used to investigate students’ responses and their inferences in relation to learning theories including cognitive load theory and taxonomies of learning. The voices of students in this study reveal insights into question demands and difficulty. Students discuss recall, reasoning and application of knowledge. Many students associate question length with difficulty. Question clarity inspires student confidence. Context in a question introduces an unreliable element, motivating some and confusing others. Students’ insights have implications for examiners, teachers, and students. The thesis concludes that there are compelling reasons, in terms of teaching and learning, improving question design, validity, and public confidence in the examination system, to listen to students’ views

A pedagogical response to the challenges of delivering collaborative probation education in online environments.

This paper explores the challenges in delivering post graduate probation education in a predominately online environment. It discusses the key pedagogical theories underpinning the teaching approach, with a particular emphasis on social constructivism, communities of practice and enquiry based learning. The complexities of engaging students in the types of discursive and collegiate activities inherent within these approaches whilst learning at a distance are discussed. A case study exploring the facilitation of a colloborative enquiry based task into the role of emotion work in probation practice is used to demonstrate our response to the challenges identified. Whilst the context of this paper is probation education, it has relevance to those teaching other disciplines within online settings