Photoproduction of mesons off nuclei

Recent results for the photoproduction of mesons off nuclei are reviewed. These experiments have been performed for two major lines of research related to the properties of the strong interaction. The investigation of nucleon resonances requires light nuclei as targets for the extraction of the isospin composition of the electromagnetic excitations. This is done with quasi-free meson photoproduction off the bound neutron and supplemented with the measurement of coherent photoproduction reactions, serving as spin and/or isospin filters. Furthermore, photoproduction from light and heavy nuclei is a very efficient tool for the study of the interactions of mesons with nuclear matter and the in-medium properties of hadrons. Experiments are currently rapidly developing due to the combination of high quality tagged (and polarized) photon beams with state-of-the-art 4pi detectors and polarized targets

West African food systems resilience

The study draws a rich and nuanced picture of West African food system resilience, with clear challenges and leveragepoints for enhancing capacities to respond to future shocks. I hope that the publication will also inform and inspire you,either to dive deeper into West African food systems and their resilience, or to undertake any action to support them

Major Issues in the Successful Implementation of Information Systems in Developing Countries

Part 1: IS Success and FailureInternational audienceInformation systems projects in developing countries continue to fail. Our research aims to understand some of the major issues that negatively impact the success of public sector information systems projects in developing countries. For this, we conducted a qualitative study of a state agricultural marketing board in India. The board initiated an information systems project in 2003. The objective of the project was to connect the various agricultural markets spread across the state by deploying hi-tech information and communication technologies. Unfortunately, the project was abandoned because of the growing conflicts between the government and private vendors implementing the project. The major stakeholders in the project included the government, private vendors, farmers and traders. The data for this critical case study were collected over a period of eight months from 2009 to 2012 using semi structured interviews, field visits and observations. The findings suggest that the lack of trust and resignation (to certain unfair practices being virtually impossible to change) arethe core issues that impede success of information systems implementation in developing countries