Economics of organic farming (extension to OF0125)(0F0190)

This project OF0190 was an extension to OF0125 to cover completing the comparison data for 1997/98 and to extend the data collection by one further year (1998/99). The final reports for the two projects are therefore being submitted jointly. The OF0125 report covers the period 1995/96-1997/98, for which a detailed report was submitted to MAFF in July 1999, and a revised detailed report including a complete set of comparisons with conventional farms was submitted to MAFF, after revisions, in July 2000. That report has now been published at www.organic.aber.ac.uk/library/organic farm incomes.pdf. A detailed report for 1998/99 has been submitted to MAFF in March 2001, and will be published at the same internet site once accepted. The report presents results from research work carried out for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) on the financial performance of organic farms in 1998/99. The aim of the research was to assess the financial performance of organic farms differentiated by farm type, in order to inform MAFF policy-making with respect to organic farming, and to provide a basis for assessments by farmers, advisers and other interested parties of the farm-level implications of conversion to and continued organic farming. To provide an idea of the trends over time, where possible data for continuous samples of farms are presented for 1997/98 and 1998/99. The specific objectives were to extend the previous project (OF0125, covering 1995/96 to 1997/98) to collect and collate data on the financial performance of organic farms, differentiated by farm type . This was achieved through the collation of financial data collected under three different MAFF-funded research projects supplemented by data collected on other farm types. The samples of organic farms are small because of the limited number of organic holdings over 8 ESU (European Size Units) with identifiable holding numbers in 1996, when the previous study was started. As the sample is small there is limitation on how the results may be extrapolated to the wider population of organic farms, especially as the structure and objectives of those converting to organic production in the late 1990s may be different from those that converted in the 1970s and 1980s. Detailed financial input, output, income, liabilities and assets and some physical performance measures are presented for 1998/99. Where an identical sample of five farms is available, data are presented for 1997/98 and 1998/99 for the sample. The organic farm samples are so small that outliers (especially larger farms) have a large influence on the average. If the samples were larger, general trends would be more apparent and less influenced by individual farms; despite this, some explanation has been attempted of trends and changes in inputs, outputs and incomes. However, great care must be taken in extrapolating results. Of those farm types for which a continuous identical sample of five farms was available, Net Farm Incomes (NFI) increased for cropping (£281/ha) and dairy farms (£487/ha) in 1998/99 compared with 1997/98; in both cases outputs as well as inputs increased between years. Mixed farms showed an average reduction in outputs and increase in inputs, lowering the average NFI to £15/ha in 1998/99. The five lowland cattle and sheep farms improved a negative NFI of £161/ha in 1997/98 to a positive £7/ha in 1998/99 through an increase in livestock outputs with a similar level of inputs to that of 1997/98. Due to the high level of farmer and spouse labour on horticultural holdings, the average Management and Investment Income (MII) of the sample was negative, but the average NFI was £1,836/ha. On four holdings, 1998/99 average outputs were 92%, and inputs were 97% of the previous year, resulting in an average NFI in 1998/99 for that group of 75% of the 1997/98 result. The group of LFA farms, consisting of four cattle and sheep and one mixed farm, achieved an average NFI of £72/ha in 1998/99

Abandoning or Reimagining a Cultural Heartland? Understanding and Responding to Rewilding Conflicts in Wales – the case of the Cambrian Wildwood.

This paper is about rewilding and the tensions it involves. Rewilding is a relatively novel approach to nature conservation, which seeks to be proactive and ambitious in the face of continuing environmental decline. Whilst definitions of rewilding place a strong emphasis on non-human agency, it is an inescapably human aspiration resulting in a range of social conflicts. The paper focuses on the case study of the Cambrian Wildwood project in Mid Wales (UK), evaluating the ways in which debate and strategic action to advance rewilding is proceeding, assessing the extent to which compromise and learning has occurred amongst advocates. As such, we provide an important addition to the field, by detailing how conflicts play out over time and how actors’ positioning and approach shifts, and why. In this case, tempers have flared around the threat that rewilding is seen to pose to resident farming communities. Tensions discussed include the differing social constructions of landscape and nature involved; the distribution of impacts on different stakeholders; and the relative power of different actors to make decisions and gain representation. Responding to these, the paper outlines how rewilding advocates havesought to advance a more peopled and culturally responsive vision, whichseeks to champion sustainable livelihood strategies. The changes in approach detailed demonstrate a reflexive stance from rewilders, which suggests that learning and adaptation can occur. Nonetheless, caution is expressed regarding the extent to which rewilding can truly advance inclusive opportunities for rural change, given a continued return amongst stakeholders to exclusionary narratives of belonging and authenticity, suggesting substantive difficulty in moving beyond longstanding concerns over identity and the re-imagination of place. Rewilding, it would seem, is about who we think we are and how we co-constitute our sense of self. We, therefore, close by arguing that tactics and politicking can only have so much bearing, tensions over rewilding are unavoidably emotional

Geophysical Survey in Sub-Saharan Africa: magnetic and Electromagnetic Investigation of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Songo Mnara, Tanzania

Magnetometry and Slingram electromagnetic surveys were conducted at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Songo Mnara, Tanzania, as part of a multi-national programme of investigation to examine the uses of space within and outside of this stonetown. The town was a major Islamic trading port during the 14th and 15th centuries.The surveys detected significant evidence for the containment of activities within the town walls, and previously unknown anthropogenic activity was revealed between the existing coral rag buildings, as well as within the open areas inside the town. Over 40 areas of magnetic disturbance were identified that corresponded directly with areas of high magnetic susceptibility in the Slingram electromagnetic in-phase responses.On excavation many of these anomalies were found to correlate with wattle and daub structures, indicating a hitherto unidentified population, and the location of the anomalies also suggests a potentially deliberate delineation of space within the open areas of the stonetown. The combined results of the three geophysical data sets indicate that there are clear delineations in the use of space within Songo Mnara. This coupled with the presence of industrial activities and evidence of more ephemeral occupation, neither of which had previously been recorded at the site, indicates that the pre-existing town plan is in need of significant reappraisal. The current plan, based upon the remains of extant and collapsed coral buildings, can now be updated to incorporate the more ephemeral aspects of Swahili sites including activity areas, and notably, the homes of the ‘hidden majority’of the population.The results establish the benefit of a combined approach at these sites, and demonstrate that further invasive and non-invasive exploration is required in order to fully exploit the significance of the role of geophysical techniques in understanding Swahili towns

The influence of employment social support for risk and prognosis in nonspecific back pain: a systematic review and critical synthesis

PURPOSE: To examine the influence of employment social support type (e.g. co-worker, supervisor, general support) on risk of occurrence of low back pain, and prognosis (e.g. recovery, return to work status) for those who have low back pain. METHODS: Systematic search of seven databases (MEDLINE, Embase, PsychINFO, CINAHL, IBSS, AMED and BNI) for prospective or case-control studies reporting findings on employment social support in populations with nonspecific back pain. Data extraction and quality assessment were carried out on included studies. A systematic critical synthesis was carried out on extracted data. RESULTS: Thirty-two articles were included that describe 46 findings on the effect of employment social support on risk of and prognosis of back pain. Findings show that there is no effect of co-worker, supervisor or general work support on risk of new onset back pain. Weak effects of employment support were found for recovery and return to work outcomes; greater levels of co-worker support and general work support were found to be associated with less time to recovery or return to work. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence suggests that the association between employment support and prognosis may be subject to influence from wider concepts related to the employment context. This review discusses these wider issues and offers directions for future research

The politics of the rural and relational values: Contested discourses of rural change and landscape futures in west wales

Across Europe, rural landscapes and communities are changing, following local, national and global pressures. The future physical makeup of these landscapes, the species, landforms and land uses that are present, and the relationship between these landscapes and local communities, is uncertain. At the same time, rural politics has moved from debates about agricultural production to broader considerations of ways of life, and who and what is appropriate in the countryside. As different visions for the physical makeup of landscapes are being proposed and negotiated, it is worth understanding how they fit into broader rural politics, and the values that underpin them, particularly relational landscape values. The purpose of this work is to understand contests over the future of landscapes in west Wales, with particular focus on the relational values that underpin different visions for the landscape. We use image based Q methodology to analyse different visions. We find two distinct visions which we name socio-ecological rebalancing and maintaining heritage farming landscapes. We find that relational and eudemonic values underpin these visions. Despite claims by participants and stakeholders to speak for rural communities, we find important difference within rural communities. We find that disagreements on the environmental and social future of the landscape are based on shared facts but divergent values and relationships with the landscape. These findings have important implications for the future of contested projects aimed at transforming the landscape of this region, and relevance for wider European landscape change. Our conceptual approach, which combines a focus on the politics of the rural with relational values, and our methodological approach, of image based Q methodology, have great potential for understanding debates over the future of rural landscapes

A powerful intervention: general practitioners' use of sickness certification in depression

<b>Background</b> Depression is frequently cited as the reason for sickness absence, and it is estimated that sickness certificates are issued in one third of consultations for depression. Previous research has considered GP views of sickness certification but not specifically in relation to depression. This study aimed to explore GPs views of sickness certification in relation to depression.<p></p> <b>Methods</b> A purposive sample of GP practices across Scotland was selected to reflect variations in levels of incapacity claimants and antidepressant prescribing. Qualitative interviews were carried out between 2008 and 2009.<p></p> <b>Results</b> A total of 30 GPs were interviewed. A number of common themes emerged including the perceived importance of GP advocacy on behalf of their patients, the tensions between stakeholders involved in the sickness certification system, the need to respond flexibly to patients who present with depression and the therapeutic nature of time away from work as well as the benefits of work. GPs reported that most patients with depression returned to work after a short period of absence and that it was often difficult to predict which patients would struggle to return to work.<p></p> <b>Conclusions</b> GPs reported that dealing with sickness certification and depression presents distinct challenges. Sickness certificates are often viewed as powerful interventions, the effectiveness of time away from work for those with depression should be subject to robust enquiry

Acceptability of a vocational advice service for patients consulting in primary care with musculoskeletal pain: A qualitative exploration of the experiences of general practitioners, vocational advisers and patients

Aims: To explore the experiences of GPs, vocational advisors and patients towards a new vocational advice (VA) service in primary care, using qualitative interviews. Methods This study was nested within the Study of Work And Pain (SWAP) cluster randomised controlled trial. The SWAP trial located a VA service within three general practices in Staffordshire. Interviews took place with 10 GPs 12 months after the introduction of the VA service, 4 vocational advisors whilst the VA service was running and 20 patients on discharge from the VA service. The data were analysed using the 'constant comparative' method, which is a variation of grounded theory. Results: The key factors determining the acceptability and perceived effectiveness of the VA service from the perspective of the three groups of stakeholders were 1) the timing of referrals to the VA, 2) the perceived lack of patient demand for the service, and 3) role uncertainty experienced by VAs. Conclusions: Early vocational intervention may not be appropriate for all musculoskeletal patients with work difficulties. Indeed, many patients felt they did not require the support of a VA, either because they had self-limiting work difficulties and/or already had support mechanisms in place to return to work. Future VA interventions may be better implemented in a targeted way so that appropriate patients are identified with characteristics which can best be addressed by the VA service

Chronic widespread bodily pain is increased among individuals with history of fracture:findings from UK Biobank

Acknowledgments This work was supported by grants from the Medical Research Council, British Heart Foundation, Arthritis Research UK, National Osteoporosis Society, International Osteoporosis Foundation, NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, and NIHR Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit, University of Oxford. This research has been conducted using the UK Biobank Resource. Compliance with ethical standards.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Trust in Nanotechnology? On Trust as Analytical Tool in Social Research on Emerging Technologies

Trust has become an important aspect of evaluating the relationship between lay public and technology implementation. Experiences have shown that a focus on trust provides a richer understanding of reasons for backlashes of technology in society than a mere focus of public understanding of risks and science communication. Therefore, trust is also widely used as a key concept for understanding and predicting trust or distrust in emerging technologies. But whereas trust broadens the scope for understanding established technologies with well-defined questions and controversies, it easily fails to do so with emerging technologies, where there are no shared questions, a lack of public familiarity with the technology in question, and a restricted understanding amongst social researchers as to where distrust is likely to arise and how and under which form the technology will actually be implemented. Rather contrary, ‘trust’ might sometimes even direct social research into fixed structures that makes it even more difficult for social research to provide socially robust knowledge. This article therefore suggests that if trust is to maintain its important role in evaluating emerging technologies, the approach has to be widened and initially focus not on people’s motivations for trust, but rather the object of trust it self, as to predicting how and where distrust might appear, how the object is established as an object of trust, and how it is established in relation with the public