Beyond recurrent costs: an institutional analysis of the unsustainability of donor-supported reforms in agricultural extension

International donors have spent billions of dollars over the past four decades in developing and/or reforming the agricultural extension service delivery arrangements in developing countries. However, many of these reforms, supported through short-term projects, became unsustainable once aid funding had ceased. The unavailability of recurrent funding has predominantly been highlighted in the literature as the key reason for this undesirable outcome, while little has been written about institutional factors. The purpose of this article is to examine the usefulness of taking an institutional perspective in explaining the unsustainability of donor-supported extension reforms and derive lessons for improvement. Using a framework drawn from the school of institutionalism in a Bangladeshi case study, we have found that a reform becomes unsustainable because of poor demands for extension information and advice; missing, weak, incongruent, and perverse institutional frameworks governing the exchange of extension goods (services); and a lack of institutional learning and change during the reform process. Accordingly, we have argued that strategies for sustainable extension reforms should move beyond financial considerations and include such measures as making extension goods (services) more tangible and monetary in nature, commissioning in-depth studies to learn about local institutions, crafting new institutions and/or reforming the weak and perverse institutions prevailing in developing countries. We emphasize the need to address three categories of institutions – regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive – and call for an alignment among them. We further argue that, in order to be sustainable, a reform should take a systemic approach in institutional capacity building and, for this to be possible, adopt a long-term program approach, as opposed to a short-term project approach

From weeds to tiny flowers: Rethinking the place of the youngest children outdoors

This report provides new knowledge and understanding about babies and toddlers outdoors. It starts from a point of concern about the way the youngest children are seen as ‘out of place’ or not belonging in outdoor spaces. We use the metaphor of “garden weeds” (after Jenks, 2005) to convey this idea.The evidence in the report is based on a systematic literature review conducted by the authors as the first part of a Froebel Trust funded project. Three types of outdoor spaces are important in the lives of the youngest children – those in the home, community and within ECEC settings. Research emphasises the importance of specific environmental characteristics (greenness, the presence of natural features, enclosure) within these outdoor spaces. Adults play a key role outdoors in supporting babies and toddlers in outdoor spaces. Research highlights the importance of connective care practices and interactions that facilitate familiarity with the natural world. The interactions between babies and toddlers, the adults who care for them, and outdoor spaces are complex and can either be connective (oriented towards inclusion) or disconnective (oriented towards exclusion). A range of intersecting social characteristics (socio-economic status, education, class, ethnicity, and disability), cultural, and environmental factors are understood to influence interactions outdoors. ECEC settings have a potentially critical role in developing more inclusive practices, and challenging the idea that the youngest children don’t belong outdoors. Drawing on Froebelian thinking, we suggest that babies and toddlers can be helpfully likened to ‘tiny flowers’ that need ‘space and time’ to flourish and grow ‘in and with nature’

THE INFLUENCE OF FREESTYLE AND BACKSTROKE SWIMMING ON THE PEAK TORQUE AND MUSCLE BALANCE OF THE ROTATOR CUFF

This study examined the effect of swimming on rotator cuff shoulder strength and balance. Elite freestyle (FS) (n=6) and backstroke (BS) (n=6) swimmers and a control group (CG) (n=12) undertook concentric isokinetic testing in prone (P) and supine (S) positions. Between groups, FS produced greater peak torques for internal rotation in both positions. FS produced greater peak torques in P position, whilst BS had a tendency for greater peak torques in S position, suggesting swimmers produce higher torques in a stroke-specific body position. FS and BS had lower externakinternal rotation (ER:IR) ratios compared to CG in P position, whilst FS had a lower shoulder ER:IR ratio in the S position. This suggests that FS gain in IR strength with an unchanged ER strength

Wall interference assessment and corrections

Wind tunnel wall interference assessment and correction (WIAC) concepts, applications, and typical results are discussed in terms of several nonlinear transonic codes and one panel method code developed for and being implemented at NASA-Langley. Contrasts between 2-D and 3-D transonic testing factors which affect WIAC procedures are illustrated using airfoil data from the 0.3 m Transonic Cryogenic Tunnel and Pathfinder 1 data from the National Transonic Facility. Initial results from the 3-D WIAC codes are encouraging; research on and implementation of WIAC concepts continue

The Rapidly Fading Optical Afterglow of GRB 980519

GRB 980519 had the most rapidly fading of the well-documented GRB afterglows, consistent with t^{-2.05 +/- 0.04} in BVRI as well as in X-rays during the two days in which observations were made. We report VRI observations from the MDM 1.3m and WIYN 3.5m telescopes, and we synthesize an optical spectrum from all of the available photometry. The optical spectrum alone is well fitted by a power law of the form nu^{-1.20 +/- 0.25}, with some of the uncertainty due to the significant Galactic reddening in this direction. The optical and X-ray spectra together are adequately fitted by a single power law nu^{-1.05 +/- 0.10}. This combination of steep temporal decay and flat broad-band spectrum places a severe strain on the simplest afterglow models involving spherical blast waves in a homogeneous medium. Instead, the rapid observed temporal decay is more consistent with models of expansion into a medium of density n(r) proportional to r^{-2}, or with predictions of the evolution of a jet after it slows down and spreads laterally. The jet model would relax the energy requirements on some of the more extreme GRBs, of which GRB 980519 is likely to be an example because of its large gamma-ray fluence and faint host galaxy.Comment: 13 pages, submitted to ApJ Letter

Antibiotic resistance: estimating the population level distribution of Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamases (ESBLs) in West Yorkshire, UK

Antibiotic resistance is of concern and GPs are encouraged to reduce prescribing levels. An important type of antimicrobial resistance is caused by Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamases. This study aims to establish whether obtaining faecal samples is an acceptable form of ‘screening’ and to use GIS methods to analyse diagnoses. There are observable differences in levels of resistance within Bradford and Leeds and inverse distance weighting provides an estimated surface of resistance. A spatial cluster of unusually high antibiotic resistance is found within Bradford. This deserves further study as does the use of data with improved geographic resolution and wider geographical coverage

Pre-clearing vegetation of the coastal lowlands of the Wet Tropics Bioregion, North Queensland

A pre-clearing vegetation map and digital coverage at approximately 1:50 000 scale for the coastal lowlands (up to about 200 m elevation) of the Wet Tropics Bioregion, North Queensland is presented. The study area covers about 508 000 ha from Cooktown, 420 km south almost to Townsville (latitude 15° 30’–18° 20’ longitude 144° 50’–146° 40’). Data sources included historical aerial photography, early surveyors’ plans, explorers’ journals, previous vegetation maps, and maps of soils and geology. The pre-clearing mapping was built around the remnant vegetation mapping of Stanton & Stanton (2005), and the vegetation classification of this latter work was adopted. Vegetation units were further classified into regional ecosystems compatible with the standard State-wide system used by Queensland government. The digital coverage is part of the current Queensland Herbarium regional ecosystem coverage (Queensland Herbarium and Wet Tropics Management Authority 2005). Coloured maps (1:100 000 scale) of the pre-clearing vegetation of the Herbert, Tully, Innisfail and Macalister/Daintree subregions are on an accompanying CD-ROM. An evaluation of vegetation loss through clearing on the coastal lowlands of the Wet Tropics revealed several nearextinct vegetation communities and regional ecosystems, and many others that are drastically reduced in area. Even ecosystems occurring on poorly drained lands have suffered a surprisingly high level of loss due to the effectiveness of drainage operations. Grassland ecosystems were found to be widespread on the Herbert and Tully floodplains, but are now close to extinction. The lowlands vegetation of the Wet Tropics that remains today continues to be fragmented and degraded despite the introduction of State-wide broad-scale tree-clearing laws in 1999, and the cessation of broadscale tree-clearing in December 2006

Folding dynamics of the helical structures in a minimal model

The folding of a polypeptide is an example of the cooperative effects of the amino-acid residues. Of recent interest is how a secondary structure, such as a helix, spontaneously forms during the collapse of a peptide from an initial denatured state. The Monte Carlo implementation of a recent helix-forming model enables us to study the entire folding process dynamically. As shown by the computer simulations, the foldability and helical propagation are both strongly correlated to the nucleation properties of the sequence.Comment: 3 figures Submitted to Europhys Lette

Nanotrench for nano and microparticle electrical interconnects

We present a simple and versatile patterning procedure for the reliable and reproducible fabrication of high aspect ratio (10 4 ) electrical interconnects that have separation distances down to 20 nm and lengths of several hundreds of microns. The process uses standard optical lithography techniques and allows parallel processing of many junctions, making it easily scalable and industrially relevant. We demonstrate the suitability of these nanotrenches as electrical interconnects for addressing micro and nanoparticles by realizing several circuits with integrated species. Furthermore, low impedance metal-metal low contacts are shown to be obtained when trapping a single metal-coated microsphere in the gap, emphasizing the intrinsic good electrical conductivity of the interconnects, even though a wet process is used. Highly resistive magnetite-based nanoparticles networks also demonstrate the advantage of the high aspect ratio of the nanotrenches for providing access to electrical properties of highly resistive materials, with leakage current levels below 1 pA. © 2010 IOP Publishing Ltd