Theoretical Guidance on the Determinants of Success in Agricultural Marketing and Production Clubs

Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Marketing,

Crisis or Possibility? Conversations About the American High School

Looks at how leaders are beginning to transform America's traditional, comprehensive high school in ways that make it responsive to the needs of all students. Based on proceedings from a series of conferences held in the fall of 2003

Are big city urban planners preparing for autonomous vehicles?

Given that our urban centres have been dominated by the private car for a hundred years, this paper asks what is next for Canadian cities. Previous research on the future of urban mobility, and specifically city planning and autonomous vehicles, has been from an American or Australian context. Working from a uniquely Canadian perspective, this paper fills a gap in the research by analyzing data from twenty-six semi-structured interviews with Canadian planning professionals from Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg and Toronto. The interviews discuss how Canadian planners are preparing for new technologies, including autonomous vehicles, and increased privatization. We recommend that large cities move forward with autonomous vehicle research with a goal of improving mobility for all, while ensuring a strong agreement framework with all for-profit mobility providers is in place that requires robust data sharing agreements and appropriate consultation with municipalities before, during, and after launching. Further, planners should further embrace the political realities of their positions and advocate for equitable mobility for all residents both in their day-to-day work and in public engagement settings.Vu que nos centres urbains sont dominés depuis une centaine d’années par la voiture privée, le présent article s’interroge sur ce qui s’ensuit pour les villes canadiennes. Jusqu’à date, la recherche sur le futur de la mobilité urbaine et, plus particulièrement, sur l’urbanisme et les véhicules autonomes, s’est effectuée dans un contexte américain ou australien. Le présent article vise à remédier à cette lacune d’une perspective uniquement canadienne en analysant les données ressorties de vingt-six entrevues semi-structurées avec des professionnels canadiens de l’urbanisme de Vancouver, d’Edmonton, de Calgary, de Winnipeg et de Toronto. Les entrevues cherchent à savoir comment leur planification tient compte des nouvelles technologies, dont les véhicules autonomes, et de la privatisation grandissante.Nous recommandons que les grandes villes entament des recherches sur les véhicules autonomes, dans l’optique d’une amélioration de la mobilité pour tous, en assurant en même temps qu’une forte structure d’accord avec tous les fournisseurs de mobilité à but lucratif soit en place qui nécessite des accords robustes de partage de données et une consultation appropriée avec les municipalités avant, durant et après le lancement. En plus, les planificateurs devraient saisir pleinement les réalités politiques de leurs positions et promouvoir une mobilité équitable dans leur travail quotidien et à travers leur engagement publique pour tous les citoyens

Sound archiving and traditional song transmission in Scotland : exploring a confluence of practice

This thesis focusses on the interaction between access to sound archives and the performance of traditional song heritage. Specifically, the questions that my research seeks to explore and answer are: (a) How do sound archives play a role within current practices and performance of traditional song in Scotland, in both Gaelic and Scots song traditions? and (b) In what ways do contemporary approaches to sound archiving have an impact upon such practices? The research centres on uses made of traditional song from archival recorded sources in Scotland, looking both at the archival activities and processes which preserve access to these materials, and at the lived experiences and perspectives of singers and performers who access and make use of them. The thesis draws its data and evidence from three areas of study, which are presented in two main parts. Firstly, a series of interviews with traditional singers and archivists presents a consideration of the activities and attitudes connected with these two realms of practice. The second part presents an exploration of the Scotland's Sounds network as an innovative approach to sound archiving in Scotland, with a particular examination of two song-related projects carried out by this network. A third area interwoven with these reflects on my own practice as a singer and my experiences of working with archives, in a series of 'song studies' which are accompanied by audio recordings. The thesis proposes that human interactions with archival recordings enable the 'activation' of the archive: through the activities of archivists who engage communities of users and the actions of singers who learn, perform and pass on songs from the archive, stereotypical notions of archives as being 'dead artefacts' are undone. Furthermore, the actions of specialist practitioners whom I have described as 'singer-archivists' are shown to enable a confluence between sound archives and traditional song by forming a 'conduit' between the two. Such conduits increase opportunities for the interactions between archival and song practices to flow in both directions – inwards, to influence archival processes, and outwards, to form part of the carrying stream of tradition

Renegotiating father’s identity following stillbirth: what and who am I?

This study examines the experiences of men following stillbirth in particular the challenges they face in claiming their identity as a father of an absent child. Fathers felt diminished when concerns about how they were coping were directed only to the women. Contrary to the notion that father’s experience suggests men suffer less distress, this research shows that men also deal with loss at an emotional level. This investigation into men’s accounts of loss forms part of a larger study in which 28 men and women participated in interviews and focus groups about their experiences of perinatal death. By listening to narrative accounts of loss, the passage to parenthood for bereaved men represents a disruption and re-evaluation of who they are, what they knew about the world as they negotiate the incomprehensibility of the death itself. Narratives by bereaved men also reveal how their sense of self and identity is mediated by the social and cultural milieu to which they belong and are largely disenfranchising experiences when friends, family and others, at times, fail to acknowledge the enormity of their loss. The findings suggest that recognition of the death of baby who is stillborn as well as the impact of the death for father’s is intertwined with personal identity. Men in this study needed to receive recognition as fathers, both at the time of their loss and after. In examining the reproductive and bereavement journey of men, several domains occurred to illuminate the experience of men including; men as support partners; the impact of the death; parenting an absent child [advocate, protector]. The findings from this study will offer insight into the experiences of men that will resonate for others including practitioners who support individuals going through similar experiences. Ethical approval for the study was granted by the University of Bristol Ethics Committee as part of doctoral research. Written informed consent was obtained by all study participants. No formal recruitment was obtained through the National Health Service or Government Institution and was entirely voluntary

Teenage dogs? Evidence for adolescent-phase conflict behaviour and an association between attachment to humans and pubertal timing in the domestic dog

The relationship between parent and child changes around adolescence, with children believed to have: (i) an earlier puberty if they have less secure attachments to their carer; (ii) a phase of increased conflict behaviour toward their carer; and (iii) heightened conflict behaviour when carer attachments are less secure. We find support for analogous associations in adolescent dogs based on behaviour and reproductive timing of potential guide dogs. Bitches with behaviour indicative of insecure attachments pre-adolescence became reproductively capable earlier. Providing the first empirical evidence to our knowledge in support of adolescent-phase behaviour in dogs, we found a passing phase of carer-specific conflict-like behaviour during adolescence (reduced trainability and responsiveness to commands), an effect that was more pronounced in dogs with behaviour indicative of less secure attachments. These results indicate a possibility for cross-species influence on reproductive development and highlight adolescence as a vulnerable time for dog–owner relationships

Meyouandus: Interactive in-venue displays. Research and Development Report

Arts practice MeYouAndUs will produce TILO, a hybrid display system for cultural venues. It uses digital screens situated in the public spaces of a venue, combined with live feeds and sensors to display engaging, interactive and personalised content. TILO aims to create a dialogue between the arts organisation, the building and its visitors, and will allow artists to carry out their own interventions. The system will be piloted at FACT, the popular cross-arts venue in Liverpool

Environmental risk factors for canine atopic dermatitis: a retrospective large‐scale study in Labrador and golden retrievers

Background - canine atopic dermatitis (cAD) is one the most common and distressing skin disorders seen in dogs. It is characterised by dysfunction in the skin barrier, with a complex pathogenesis combining both genetic and environmental factors.Objectives - to evaluate associations between environmental factors and case-control status in two closely related, at-risk breeds, the Labrador and Golden retriever.Animals - 2,445 pet dogs, of which 793 were classed as cases (575 Labradors and218 Golden retrievers) and 1,652 as controls (1,120 Labradors and 532 Golden retrievers). Methods – case-control status was assigned based upon owner response to a standardised validated questionnaire. Retrospective data on rearing environment was collected via additional questions. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were utilised to evaluate associations between environmental factors and case-control status.Results - risk factors included being reared in an urban environment (not living currently in an urban environment), being male, being neutered, receiving flea control, and being allowed on upholstered furniture. Protective factors included living with other dogs (not cats) and walking in woodlands, fields or beaches. Additionally, amongst Labradors, chocolate coated dogs were at greater risk of having cAD than black or yellow coated dogs.Conclusions and clinical importance - This study is the largest of its kind to date to investigate the role of the environment in canine atopic dermatitis. Although precise triggers are unclear, this study contributes to those of earlier studies to highlight the protective role of a rural environment and highlights some novel associations with disease development

Chiasma

Newspaper reporting on events at the Boston University School of Medicine in the 1960s

Using the incidence and impact of behavioural conditions in guide dogs to investigate patterns in undesirable behaviour in dogs

The domestic dog is one of our most popular companions and longest relationships, occupying different roles, from pet to working guide dog for the blind. As dogs age different behavioural issues occur and in some cases dogs may be relinquished or removed from their working service. Here we analyse a dataset on working guide dogs that were removed from their service between 1994 and 2013. We use the withdrawal reasons as a proxy for the manifestation of undesirable behaviour. More than 7,500 dogs were in the dataset used, 83% of which were retired (due to old age) and 17% were withdrawn for behavioural issues. We found that the main reasons for behaviour withdrawal were environmental anxiety, training, and fear/aggression. Breed and sex had an effect on the odds of dogs being withdrawn under the different reasons. The age at withdrawal for the different withdrawal reasons suggested that dogs were more likely to develop fear/aggression related issues early on, whilst issues related to training could develop at almost any age. We found no evidence for heterosis effecting behaviour. We believe that this work is relevant to the pet dog population and had implications for understanding ageing and genetic influences on behaviour