On the balance between strategic-basic and applied agricultural research

Strategic‐basic research refers to basic research conducted in strategically selected areas expected to be of social benefit. Recent literature on the processes of basic research and its links to applied research has not been widely discussed in relation to agricultural research. This may have important implications for the question of the optimal allocation of research resources. The links are reviewed and combined into a framework for considering the allocation question. A numerical model suggests that only a small number of the model’s parameters substantially affect the optimal level of basic research, and that it is not important to identify the optimal solution precisely, since the benefit function is extremely flat around the optimum.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Policies and politics: Challenges and opportunities for agricultural and resource economists

This is a broad-ranging discussion of the role of economics and economists in the formation of government policies. The focus is on helping economists who wish to be influential in the policy process. The paper covers rationales for and against economist involvement in the policy process (market failure, government failure, economist failure), a range of theories that attempt to explain aspects of the policy process, and practical advice and insights based on the experiences of policy economists. Many challenges are highlighted, but some clear opportunities are apparent, particularly through explicit advocacy for the public interest.Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Political Economy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Australian environmental and natural resource policy – from the Natural Heritage Trust to Caring for our Country

The Natural Heritage Trust and the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality were major national policies focused on land and water degradation and nature conservation in Australia. These programs fell a long way short of achieving their stated goals. It is proposed that to be able to spend their considerable public funds in cost effective ways, they would have needed a number of particular characteristics. Among other things, they needed to prioritise investments well, consistent with an appropriate role of government, and based on analyses that integrated good quality bio-physical and socio-economic information. They needed to select policy mechanisms that would be appropriate for the circumstances. The incentives created by program rules and procedures should have encouraged environmental managers responsible for program delivery to pursue environmental outcomes cost-effectively. However, the programs did not satisfy these criteria. Prospects for improving matters in the new national program, Caring for our Country, are discussed. It will be difficult to deliver outcomes cost-effectively in the new program for reasons that include capacity constraints in government agencies, time pressures on policy development, and political priorities of governments.policy evaluation, policy mechanism choice, policy implementation,

THE VALUE OF INFORMATION IN HERBICIDE DECISION MAKING FOR WEED CONTROL IN AUSTRALIAN WHEAT CROPS

Most weed control decisions are made with the benefit of some information about weather conditions and actual weed densities. This study is an investigation of the value of adjusting weed control decisions in response to these types of information. For a specific example, it is found that the expected value of information can reach 15% of expected gross margin. The value of information about yield prospects is higher than that for weed density. The value of information is markedly affected by the degree of risk aversion and the type of decision rule adopted. Use of information reduces the expected level of herbicide usage.Crop Production/Industries,

Policy for climate change adaptation in agriculture

A number of Australian governments have established or planned programs to assist farmers in adapting to climate change. This paper considers a potential range of policy responses that may be appropriate for climate change adaptation in agriculture. It discusses the extent to which different policy responses may be justified on the basis of market-failure and the likelihood of positive net benefits. While research and extension have the potential to generate significant benefits, there is a need to carefully consider their rationales and emphases. Given the characteristics of climate change (slow, highly uncertain, small relative to climate variability, spatially heterogeneous), the value of information from research and extension to guide farmers’ decision making about adaptation is likely to be low for decisions about farming practices and land uses. Such information would be more valuable for decisions that are larger and indivisible, such as land purchase or the decision to exit from agriculture. Policy options that appear likely to generate relatively large benefits are technology development, quarantine/eradication/containment of pests and weeds, and water market reform. This assessment is not consistent with the emphasis of existing government programs.Environmental Economics and Policy,

Sex, sexes, sex roles, and gender in land plants.

"When we view gender as an accomplishment, an achieved property of situated conduct, our attention shifts from matters internal to the individual and focuses on interactional and, ultimately, institutional arenas. In one sense, of course, it is individuals who 'do' gender. But it is a situated doing, carried out in the virtual or real presence of others who are presumed to be oriented to its production. Rather than as a property of individuals, we conceive of gender as of an emergent feature of social situations: both as an outcome of and a rationale for various social arrangements and as a means of legitimating one of the most fundamental divisions of society." This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Gender specialisation and stigma height dimorphism in Mediterranean Lithodora fruticosa (Boraginaceae).

Dimorphism in style height has evolved repeatedly in flowering plants, with some individuals having short and others long styles; in the case of distylous species, stigma position varies reciprocally with that of the anthers. Distyly can be associated with divergence in the functional gender between long- and short-styled individuals, but gender divergence has rarely been investigated in species with a simple stigma height polymorphism in the absence of reciprocal dimorphism in anther position. To evaluate the relation between stigma height polymorphism and gender, I measured the dimensions of floral morphology and seed production for the two morphs of a large population of the Iberian species Lithodora fruticosa (Boraginaceae). Results confirm the existence of a stigma height polymorphism in L. fruticosa, with long- and short-styled individuals at a 1:1 ratio in the studied population. Long-styled individuals produced substantially more seeds than did short-styled individuals, pointing to strong divergence in functional gender between the two morphs. The results of this study are puzzling in light of recent work that suggests that L. fruticosa has a multi-allelic self-incompatibility system. I discuss the significance of gender divergence in L. fruticosa and evaluate hypotheses that might explain it

School-wide Bully Prevention Programs Designed for use in Elementary Schools

Every day children all over the world become the victims of bully behavior. The notion of bullying can mean very different things to different people, yet the results can be devastating and long-lasting. Leading the charge in bullying research, Dan Olweus, helped to develop a school-wide bullying prevention program aimed at reducing and ultimately ending bullying in schools. Olweus’ research and subsequent prevention program helped lead the charge and push for other school-wide bullying prevention programs. This study will examine the goals, components, evaluation and effectiveness of school-wide bullying prevention programs from all over the world including the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program from Norway; Kiusaamista Vastaan (KiVa) out of Finland; Walk away, Ignore It, Talk it out, and Seek help (WITS) from Canada; and Steps to Respect: A Bullying Prevention Program developed and implemented in the United States. Although the programs differ in their content and delivery, all seek to stop school and childhood bullying during a child’s formative elementary school years