How do farmers research and learn? The example of organic farmers’ experiments and innovations: A research concept

Experimenting, adapting and innovating are central features of farmers’ activities all over the world. Farmers hold valuable knowledge about their environment, they actively do experiments, and have their own research traditions. The development of organic farming systems is continually evolving through the experiments and innovations of organic farmers. So far, there has been little attempt to study the nature, characteristics, and factors associated with the experimental processes of farmers in a systematic, comprehensive way. A current research project investigates learning processes of organic farmers in Austria, Cuba and Israel through researching the multifaceted experiments they conduct and the innovations they obtain as possible results. This paper presents the research concept of the project

Transatlantic discourse on integration: citizenship and culture of naturalization

"Germany, The United Kingdom and the United States are countries with high numbers of immigration and an increasing number of migrants who obtain the citizenship of the host country. Besides controlling migration inflows strong institutions of integration are needed. Policy makers in all three countries are discussing potential instruments for a better understanding of the rights and responsibilities that come with naturalization, how basic information on the political system, the state and society can be conveyed and how a feeling of belonging to the host nation can be encouraged. These aspects are central points of a larger complex, which could be called a culture of integration. In the United States this culture of integration and naturalization has a long tradition: citizenship courses and citizenship tests are to ensure that naturalization applicants receive civic education; through "civil religion" and an almost holy significance of the American nation for the individual, a strong patriotism and a feeling of national loyalty expressed by symbols, celebrations and festival days Americans and immigrants are united beyond ethnic belonging or different religious denominations. This strong patriotism is passed on by national institutions (schools, army) and in everyday life. The significance of belonging and identifying with the United States is also expressed in very festive naturalization ceremonies. Even if organised as large-scale events the naturalization ceremonies still have collective and binding effects. Naturalization in the United States is very much seen as a step in the integration process, not as its completion. Access to American citizenship consequently is relatively easy. In the United Kingdom policy makers are also discussing ways of making the acquisition of citizenship more valuable. The currently applied “mail order approach” will be reformed. Naturalization ceremonies are planned to give added significance to naturalization. The wording of the current oath of allegiance will be modified to a more modern citizenship pledge. Germany is also rethinking its traditional approach to naturalization. With the reform of the Citizenship Law in 2000 it was made easier for immigrants to acquire the German citizenship. As part of the development of a new culture of integration, including a nation-wide integration program, the symbolic side of naturalization is promoted by introducing naturalization ceremonies. They are meant as a gesture of welcome and can be understood as an offer to identify as part of a new German nation."[author´s abstract

Experimente von Biobäuerinnen und Biobauern in Österreich

Farmers’ experiments can be defined as the activity of trying or introducing something totally or partially new at the farm, including evaluation of the success or failure. In this research, topics, motives, methods and evaluation strategies of farmers’ experiments are investigated. Personal interviews were conducted with 73 organic farmers (47 semi-structured interviews, 26 structured questionnaire interviews). Organic farmers in Austria were found to experiment in a broad range of topics. To evaluate the experiments, all farmers conducted observation, and most of them also comparisons. Farmers experiment to find own creative solutions for their specific conditions and emerging problems. It is advisable to support farmers in their experimentation activities, provide room for experimentation within regulatory frameworks and to make active use of the outcomes of farmers’ experiments for the development of local agricultural systems

Bäuerliche Experimente in Kuba und ihre Bedeutung für eine nachhaltige Landwirtschaft

This paper aims to examine farmers’ perception on the contribution of farmers’ experiments to sustainable agriculture. Field research was conducted in Cuba and comprised semi-structured interviews with 72 farmers. Most Cuban farmers experimented with locally available resources. According to the farmers’ perception, resources, topics and methods were ecologically compatible and involved little risks. Through experimenting the respondents felt, that they increased the production and the degree of self-sufficiency. Farmers ensured that experiments contributed to improve the local farming system and thereby supported the sustainable development of agriculture

The Importance of Being a Good Employee: Georg Everhard Rumphius, the Dutch East India Company, and Knowledge in the Late Seventeenth Century

This article analyses the complex interrelation between the VOC and scholarship by investigating the relationship between the Company and Georg Everhard Rumphius (1627-1702). First, it will consider the line Rumphius drew between himself as scholar and as a VOC employee. Secondly, the Company’s policy of secrecy is scrutinised in order to show how and to what extent it was in conflict with the habit of sharing knowledge and objects in the Republic of Letters. The third facet examines how the VOC context influenced Rumphius’s scholarly work and how his scholarly ambitions shaped some of his occupational writings. Building on these three aspects, this article argues that it was of paramount importance for Rumphius to maintain the image of his being a ‘good employee’ in order to obtain assistance from influential people within the VOC that might allow him to achieve his scholarly goals. However, the case of Rumphius also proves that doing research under the auspices of the Company came at a price, because in the process he lost all control over his works

GPD-linked Bonds as a Financing Tool for Developing Countries and Emerging Markets

The paper examines the applicability of GDP-linked bonds for the financing of developing countries and emerging markets. GDP-linked bonds are bonds of which the coupon and/or redemption payments are tied to the GDP of the issuing country. The study encompasses a detailed empirical analysis of their pricing behaviour, the pricing sensitivities to changes in GDP, and of their behaviour in a portfolio context is conducted. A survey amongst potential investors as well as issuing-side capital market participants assesses the prospects of success of this new type of bond. Finally, the usefulness of a partial public guarantee of payments is examined. The paper provides evidence under which circumstances, for which investors and for which countries GDP-linked bonds might be an appropriate investment vehicle

Building Resilience through Farmers’ Experiments in Organic Agriculture: Examples from Eastern Austria

Farmers have always lived in changing environments where uncertainty and disturbances are inevitable. Therefore, farmers need the ability to adapt to change in order to be able to maintain their farms. Experimentation is one way for farmers to learn and adapt, and may be a tool to build farm resilience. Farmers’ experiments, as defined in this paper, are activities where something totally or partially new is introduced at the farm and the feasibility of this introduction is evaluated. The theoretical framework applied to study farmers’ experiments is the concept of resilience. Resilience is the capacity of social-ecological systems to cope with change, and is a framework used to assess complex systems of interactions between humans and ecosystems. This paper explores to which extent farmers’ experimentation can help build farm resilience. In addition to arguments found in the literature, five organic farms in Eastern Austria are used to illustrate this potential. The farmers were interviewed in 2007 and 2008. The respective farmers all worked fulltime on their farms, were between 34 and 55 years old, and owned farms between 15 and 76 ha. These farmers experimented in ways that enhance resilience – at the farm and in the region. The outcome of experiments can be management changes, new insights, or technology that can be passed on and potentially be built into education and advisory institutions. To encourage farmers’ experiments, it is important to develop conditions that support farmers in their experimenting role

Investigation of a cold-based ice apron on a high-mountain permafrost rock wall using ice texture analysis and micro-14C dating : a case study of the Triangle du Tacul ice apron (Mont Blanc massif, France)

This study is part of the ANR 14-CE03-0006 VIP Mont Blanc and the EU ALCOTRA AdaPT Mont Blanc project.The current paper studies the dynamics and age of the Triangle du Tacul (TDT) ice apron, a massive ice volume lying on a steep high-mountain rock wall in the French side of the Mont-Blanc massif at an altitude close to 3640 m a.s.l. Three 60 cm long ice cores were drilled to bedrock (i.e. the rock wall) in 2018 and 2019 at the TDT ice apron. Texture (microstructure and lattice-preferred orientation, LPO) analyses were performed on one core. The two remaining cores were used for radiocarbon dating of the particulate organic carbon fraction (three samples in total). Microstructure and LPO do not substantially vary with along the axis of the ice core. Throughout the core, irregularly shaped grains, associated with strain-induced grain boundary migration and strong single maximum LPO, were observed. Measurements indicate that at the TDT ice deforms under a low strain-rate simple shear regime, with a shear plane parallel to the surface slope of the ice apron. Dynamic recrystallization stands out as the major mechanism for grain growth. Micro-radiocarbon dating indicates that the TDT ice becomes older with depth perpendicular to the ice surface. We observed ice ages older than 600 year BP and at the base of the lowest 30 cm older than 3000 years.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Screening Properties of the Diagnostic Criteria for Cancer-Related Fatigue

Background: Within the theoretical framework of the ICD diagnostic criteria of cancer-related fatigue, we aim to investigate how those criteria can be used for screening purposes. Methods: Fatigue was assessed in a mixed sample of 1,225 cancer patients during their stay in a rehabilitation clinic using four different fatigue measures and the diagnostic criteria (Criterion A; DC-A). Psychometric evaluations (e.g., acceptance, reliability, validity, item analyses) were conducted for the sum score and for all items of the diagnostic criteria. Results: A total of 678 (57.1%) patients tested positive according to the DC-A. The sum score of the DC-A had good reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.87) and validity, corresponded closely with other fatigue scales, and, with less than 1% missing values, showed a high degree of patients’ acceptance. The highest accuracy (approx. 0.80) and Youden indices (> 0.55) were found for the items “Difficulties completing daily tasks” (A9), “Struggle to overcome inactivity” (A7), “Decreased motivation or interests” (A4), and “Unrefreshing sleep” (A6). Conclusion: The DC-A proved to be a well-accepted, easy to use, and reliable tool for measuring the severity of fatigue. In this paper, we make suggestions for the use of single items of the DC-A as a short and economical screening tool