Missing the Boat? Measuring and Evaluating Local Groundfish Purchases by New England Institutions

The development of local food markets has provided a critical economic opportunity for small farms in New England. The collapse of Gulf of Maine groundfish stocks has motivated an interest in developing similar marketing opportunities for wild-caught, locally abundant seafood. Institutions, particularly schools and colleges, have been identified as a strategic entry point in the supply chain for such products. However, there has been a dearth of research on this topic. We undertake a case study that evaluates purchases of local groundfish by schools and colleges in New England. First, we analyze recently developed secondary data to assess the propensity and frequency of local seafood purchases. We find that local seafood purchases by schools in New England are not widespread even among the subset of schools that are undertaking farm to school activities, and that schools that are purchasing local seafood are doing so infrequently. We also find that colleges have been more proactive in sourcing local seafood products. There is a high degree of state-level variation within New England, as institutions in states with relatively more prominent commercial fishing sectors are sourcing local seafood products to a relatively greater degree. Further, colleges explicitly expressed that technical assistance in sourcing sustainable seafood products would be most beneficial in regions where there was less available supply. Second, to draw further inferences about the sustainability of local seafood purchases, we report the results of seafood procurement procedures from New England colleges. We find that these colleges source a wide variety of local groundfish principally for on-campus dining and that they place high value on seafood certification schemes as guidance for making sustainable purchases. We conclude by reviewing how data collection methods for local agricultural markets could be modified with regard to seafood distribution systems

Economics, Behavioral Biology, and Law

The article first compares economics and behavioral biology, examining the assumptions, core concepts, methodological tenets, and emphases of the two fields. Building on this, the article then compares the applied interdisciplinary fields of law and economics, on one hand, with law and behavioral biology, on the other - highlighting not only the most important similarities, but also the most important differences. The article subsequently explores ways that biological perspectives on human behavior may prove useful, by improving economic models and the behavioral insights they generate. The article concludes that although there are important differences between the two fields, the overlaps between economics and biology warrant even greater congress between these two disciplines, and expanded exchange between the legal thinkers interested in each of them

Economics, Behavioral Biology, and Law

This article compares the relevance to law of two unexpectedly similar fields: economics and behavioral biology. It first examines the assumptions, core concepts, methodological tenets, and emphases of the two fields. It then compares the interdisciplinary fields of law and economics, on one hand, with law and behavioral biology, on the other-highlighting not only important similarities but also important differences. The article subsequently explores ways that biological perspectives on human behavior may, among other things, improve economic models and the behavioral insights they generate. The article concludes that although there are important differences between the two fields, the overlaps between economics and biology warrant even greater congress between these two disciplines, and expanded exchange between the legal thinkers interested in each of them

Economics, Behavioral Biology, and Law

The article first compares economics and behavioral biology, examining the assumptions, core concepts, methodological tenets, and emphases of the two fields. Building on this, the article then compares the applied interdisciplinary fields of law and economics, on one hand, with law and behavioral biology, on the other - highlighting not only the most important similarities, but also the most important differences. The article subsequently explores ways that biological perspectives on human behavior may prove useful, by improving economic models and the behavioral insights they generate. The article concludes that although there are important differences between the two fields, the overlaps between economics and biology warrant even greater congress between these two disciplines, and expanded exchange between the legal thinkers interested in each of them

Researching Market and Supply-Chain Opportunities for Local Foods Systems: Setting Priorities and Identifying Linkages

There is an increasing array of land-grant, nonprofit, and other academic programs intended to support the development of food system enterprises and programs. However, research to track consumers\u27 evolving preferences and behaviors within these systems and to measure the intended policy outcomes of any public investments in these systems is lagging. This research commentary represents a compilation of opinions and insights from those who are interested in exploring research priorities for economic, marketing, and supply-chain aspects of local food systems. The priorities that emerge are framed in the following way: (1) opportunities for increased and more targeted research to help identify gaps in the literature; (2) areas where current localized research projects could be leveraged and scaled up to the national level; and (3) innovative projects and partnerships that are evolving to bridge both knowledge and systems gaps

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits - the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants - determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits - almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Missing the Boat? Measuring and Evaluating Local Groundfish Purchases by New England Institutions

The development of local food markets has provided a critical economic opportunity for small farms in New England. The collapse of Gulf of Maine groundfish stocks has motivated an interest in developing similar marketing opportunities for wild-caught, locally abundant seafood. Institutions, particularly schools and colleges, have been identified as a strategic entry point in the supply chain for such products. However, there has been a dearth of research on this topic. We undertake a case study that evaluates purchases of local groundfish by schools and colleges in New England. First, we analyze recently developed secondary data to assess the propensity and frequency of local seafood purchases. We find that local seafood purchases by schools in New England are not widespread even among the subset of schools that are undertaking farm to school activities, and that schools that are purchasing local seafood are doing so infrequently. We also find that colleges have been more proactive in sourcing local seafood products. There is a high degree of state-level variation within New England, as institutions in states with relatively more prominent commercial fishing sectors are sourcing local seafood products to a relatively greater degree. Further, colleges explicitly expressed that technical assistance in sourcing sustainable seafood products would be most beneficial in regions where there was less available supply. Second, to draw further inferences about the sustainability of local seafood purchases, we report the results of seafood procurement procedures from New England colleges. We find that these colleges source a wide variety of local groundfish principally for on-campus dining and that they place high value on seafood certification schemes as guidance for making sustainable purchases. We conclude by reviewing how data collection methods for local agricultural markets could be modified with regard to seafood distribution systems

Correlates of implicit cognitive line length representation in two-dimensional space.

Twenty-eight sex- and age-matched participants, half dextrals and half sinstrals, were instructed to move a pen-sized planometer three inches (7.6 cm) while blindfolded. Under separate trials, movements were made at four angles, towards and away from the body, and at two distances from the body (30 cm, 53 cm). Half were made with the right hand and half with the left hand. Line estimates increased in length across blocks of trials in a linear fashion and progressively overestimated the three-inch imagined criterion. Lines made moving towards the body were longer than those made moving away from the body, implying an egocentric frame of reference in making the estimates. Line estimates made at an oblique angle differed significantly from estimates made at other angles. No influences of sex, handedness, or the hand used in making the estimates were observed. The findings suggest that motoric estimates of line lengths made without visual cues-a unique measure of an implicit cognitive concept-are significantly altered by temporal and spatial factors, but not by sex or hemispheric laterality

Correlates of Implicit Cognitive Line Length Representation in Two-Dimensional Space

Twenty-eight sex- and age-matched participants, half dextrals and half sinstrals, were instructed to move a pen-sized planometer three inches (7.6 cm) while blindfolded. Under separate trials, movements were made at four angles, towards and away from the body, and at two distances from the body (30 cm, 53 cm). Half were made with the right hand and half with the left hand. Line estimates increased in length across blocks of trials in a linear fashion and progressively overestimated the three-inch imagined criterion. Lines made moving towards the body were longer than those made moving away from the body, implying an egocentric frame of reference in making the estimates. Line estimates made at an oblique angle differed significantly from estimates made at other angles. No influences of sex, handedness, or the hand used in making the estimates were observed. The findings suggest that motoric estimates of line lengths made without visual cues-a unique measure of an implicit cognitive concept-are significantly altered by temporal and spatial factors, but not by sex or hemispheric laterality