What is the Working Environment like on Organic Farms?

A good working environment is part of the fundamental values in organic farming. In Denmark the association of organic farmers state, that the aim of organic farming is "to give everyone involved in the organic production a high quality of living". But how do the organic farmers actually experience their own working situation? And what factors play a part in their daily physical as well as psychological working environment? These were the questions we set out to answer in a project at the Danish Institute of Agricultural Science

Nature and Nature Values in Organic agriculture an analysis of contested consepts and values among different actors in organic farming

The relationship between agriculture and nature is a central issue in the current agricultural debate. Organic Farming has ambitions and a special potential in relation to nature. Consideration for nature is part of the guiding principals of organic farming and many organic farmers are committed to protecting natural qualities. However, the issue of nature, landscape, and land use is not straightforward. Nature is an ambiguous concept that involves multiple interests and actors reaching far beyond farmers. The Danish research project Nature Quality in Organic Farming has investigated the relationship between nature and organic farming. This article will focus on an expert workshop held in connection with the project that investigates the way different actors conceptualize nature. Farmers, scientists, and non-governmental organizations came together to discuss their experiences of nature and expectations of organic agriculture. From this interaction, it was clear that nature is a contested notion. Different understandings of nature exist within the three groups and there is disagreement as to whether emphasis should be given to biological qualities, production values, or experiential and aesthetic perspectives. This complexity provides a challenge to organic farming as well as to the implementation of nature considerations in general. It illustrates an underlying battle for the right to define nature and nature quality and essentially decide what organic farmers should work towards. We argue that successful implementation requires organic farmers to carefully consider what expectations they wish to meet. Optimally it is dependent on a dialog between stakeholder interest groups that allows for multivocality and pluralism

Engbelgvekster med mange oppgaver. Økosystemtjenester fra kløver.

De vanligste norske engbelgvekstene er rødkløver og kvitkløver. I enkelte deler av landet blir også luserne noe brukt. Belgvekster i eng- og fangvekstblandinger binder nitrogen fra lufta ved hjelp av Rhizobium-bakterier i knoller på røttene. Kløver i enga bidrar til økt grasvekst samme år, samt at kløver alene og i blandinger gir en god gjødseleffekt for etterfølgende vekster. Undersøkelser viser også at en fangvekstblanding med kløver og eksempelvis raigras har like god evne til å redusere utvasking av nitrogen som det en blanding uten belgvekster har. Økt bruk av kløver i enga med påfølgende redusert bruk av kunstgjødselnitrogen gir økt nitrogeneffektivitet og kan redusere utslipp av drivhusgassen lystgass fra enga. Kløver bidrar til karbonlagring i jord ved sjøl å samle nitrogen fra lufta. Nitrogen er viktig for innbygging av karbon i organisk materiale i jorda. Kløverplantene tåler moderat tørke godt og kan under våte forhold bidra til økt vanninfiltrasjon i jorda. Høyest nitrogeneffektivitet og best effekt på jordstruktur, karbonlagring og robusthet mot tørke blir det når kløver dyrkes sammen med andre arter, særlig ulike grasarter

Existential Concerns About Death:A Qualitaive Study of Dying Patients in a Danish Hospice

Research suggests that addressing dying patients’ existential concerns can improve their quality of life. We aimed to illuminate dying patients’ existential concerns about the impending death through a descriptive analysis of semistructured interviews with 17 patients in Danish hospices. The main findings demonstrated how the patients faced the imminent death without being anxious of death but sorrowful about leaving life. Some patients expressed that they avoided thinking about death. They wished to focus on positive aspects in their daily life. We argue that the patients’ existential concerns could not be fully captured by Yalom’s existential psychology or by Kübler-Ross's theory about death stages. Patients’ complex concerns could be more fully explained taking an outset in Heidegger's phenomenological thinking. </jats:p

Karbondynamikk i landbruksjord

Karbon tilføres jorda via planterøtter og i form av husdyrgjødsel og annet organisk materiale. Det er krevende å øke innholdet av karbon i dyrket jord. Hovedgrunnen er at mye karbon fjernes fra jorda via avlinger som gras, korn og grønnsaker. Karbonholdige molekyler er også ettertraktede energikilder og byggeråstoff for jordorganismene i eng- og åkerjord, og avgjørende for næringsfrigjøring i jord. Bare en liten andel av karbonet som tilføres jorda vil vanligvis være der etter noen år. Klima, driftsmåte, jord-egenskaper, planterøtter, mikroorganismer og meitemark påvirker karbonets skjebne i matjordlaget. Det er ennå mye vi ikke vet

Securitization and the construction of security

Those interested in the construction of security in contemporary international politics have increasingly turned to the conceptual framework of `securitization'. This article argues that while an important and innovative contribution, the securitization framework is problematically narrow in three senses. First, the form of act constructing security is defined narrowly, with the focus on the speech of dominant actors. Second, the context of the act is defined narrowly, with the focus only on the moment of intervention. Finally, the framework of securitization is narrow in the sense that the nature of the act is defined solely in terms of the designation of threats. In outlining this critique, the article points to possibilities for developing the framework further as well as for the need for those applying it to recognize both limits of their claims and the normative implications of their analysis. I conclude by pointing to how the framework might fit within a research agenda concerned with the broader construction of security

Karbon i jord – kilder, handtering og omdanning

Rapporten omfatter en gjennomgang av kunnskap om handtering, omdanning og lagring av karbon i jord. Klima, jordtype, driftsmåte, tilført organisk materiale og opprinnelig karboninnhold har betydning for karbonbindingen i jord, noe som gjør det umulig å generalisere det potensialet jord har til å binde karbon over lengre tid. Litteraturgjennomgangen viser at det ikke er enkelt å lagre karbon i dyrkajord. I rapporten diskuteres virkning av fermentering og kompostering på karbonbinding. Rapporten påpeker nødvendigheten av å vektlegge kvaliteten av det organiske materialet som skal tilføres jorda. Biokull kan brukes for lagring av karbon i jord. Positive egenskaper knyttet til jordforbedring kan bidra til at biokull tilført jordbruksarealer blir aktuelt som klimatiltak. Rapporten gjengir også andre enkelttiltak som kan bidra til økt humusinnhold og binding av karbon i jord. Forslag til videre arbeid knyttet til lagring av karbon i jord er tatt med til slutt i rapporten

Effect of a clown's presence at botulinum toxin injections in children: a randomized, prospective study

BACKGROUND: The effect of the presence of a hospital clown during pediatric procedures has rarely been evaluated. In a pediatric ward, botulinum toxin injection is a painful procedure and a stressful experience for the child. We undertook a study of the effect of the presence of a hospital clown on children treated with botulinum toxin in an outpatient setting. METHODS: In total, 60 children, the majority of whom had spastic cerebral palsy, were subjected to a total of 121 botulinum toxin treatment sessions. Thirty-two children were being treated for the first time. During a 2-year period, we enrolled 121 treatment sessions prospectively, and the children were randomized to either the presence of a female clown during treatment or to no presence of a clown. The duration of the child’s crying during the procedure was used as an indicator of the effect of the presence of a clown. RESULTS: The effect of the clown was significantly related to patient gender. Girls were found to have a significantly shorter period of crying when the clown was present. For children younger than 8 years, the effect on boys was negative. Children treated for the first time did not appear to benefit from the presence of the clown, and showed no difference in effect between genders. CONCLUSION: No effect of the clown was documented for children being treated for the first time. At repeat treatments, we saw a positive effect of the female clown in relation to girls, and a negative effect on boys younger than 8 years of age

Somatosensory abnormalities in Chinese patients with painful temporomandibular disorders

Background: The somatosensory phenotype of Chinese temporomandibular disorders (TMD) patients is not sufficiently studied with the use of contemporary techniques and guidelines. Methods: A standardized quantitative sensory testing (QST) battery consisting of 13 parameters with a stringent statistical protocol developed by the German Research Network on Neuropathic Pain was performed over the most painful and corresponding contralateral sites as well as the right hand of 40 Chinese patients with TMD and pain classified according to the Diagnostic Criteria for TMD (DC/TMD). The same QST protocol was performed bilaterally over the infraorbital, mental, and hand regions of 70 age-and gender-stratified healthy Chinese controls. Z-scores and loss/gain scores were computed for each TMD patient. Results: For patients, 82.5 % had somatosensory abnormalities in the painful facial region, while 60.0 % had abnormalities confined to the right hand. The most frequent abnormalities were somatosensory gain to pinprick (35.0 %) and pressure (35.0 %) stimuli, somatosensory loss to pinprick (25.0 %), cold (22.5 %), and heat (15.0 %) nociceptive stimuli. The most frequent loss/gain score was L0G2 (no somatosensory loss combined with a gain of mechanical somatosensory function) for both the facial (40.0 %) and hand (27.5 %) regions. Involving side-to-side differences in the evaluation increased the diagnostic sensitivity by 2.5-25.0 % across different parameters. Conclusions: Somatosensory abnormalities were commonly detected in Chinese TMD pain patients both within and outside the primary painful region, strongly indicating disturbances in the central processing of somatosensory stimuli. The individual variations in somatosensory abnormalities indicate a possible need for development of individualized TMD pain management.Capital Health Research and Development [2011-4025-01]; Peking University School of Stomatology [PKUSS20150207]SCI(E)[email protected]