Developing an action plan for preservation and access

Day 2 of the Newspaper Archive Summit included a brainstorming session to determine what is in a newspaper archive, and idea generation for continuing preservation and access to newspaper archives. This document presents the notes from the session and a typed version of the Worksheets for idea development

The attribute selection for GRE challenge : overview and evaluation results

The Attribute Selection for Generating Referring Expressions (ASGRE) Challenge was the first shared-task evaluation challenge in the field of Natural Language Generation. Six teams submitted a total of 22 systems. All submitted systems were tested automatically for minimality, uniqueness and ‘humanlikeness’. In addition, the output of 15 systems was tested in a task-based experiment where subjects were asked to identify referents, and the speed and accuracy of identification was measured. This report describes the ASGRE task and the five evaluation methods, gives brief overviews of the participating systems, and presents the evaluation results.peer-reviewe

Effects of drought and tapping for latex production on water relations of Hevea brasiliensis trees

The impact of drought conditions on the water relations of rubber trees is important because the trees could shed leaves while they are being continuously tapped. The aim of this work was to study the effect of soil drought and the tapping of latex on the water relations of rubber trees. This study distinguished between untapped trees and trees affected by tapping activity. The experiment was conducted on 14-15 year-old rubber trees from the clone, RRIM 600, at the Chachoengsao Rubber Research Center (CRRC). Climatic measurement, soil water content, predawn and midday leaf water potential, stand transpiration and percentage loss of hydraulic conductivity (PLC) were measured from January 2009 to January 2010, especially in the dry season. Under drought conditions, during the rainy season, stand transpiration and predawn leaf water potential decreased in response to soil drought in August. The midday leaf water potential and PLC did not change following soil water stress. In the dry season, the plant water status was related to climatic variables and soil drought. The results indicated that drought induces a reduction in the plant water status of rubber trees. Tapping activity did not have a marked infl uence on the water balance of the rubber trees. However, tapping reduced the sap fl ux density and stomatal conductance; thus, attention must be paid to tapping in the dry season, particularly in dry areas. (Résumé d'auteur

Diurnal dynamics of stand transpiration and stomatal conductance in rubber (Hevea brasiliensis Muell. Arg.)

Transpiration at the leaf and stand level is mainly controlled by climatic conditions. The diurnal dynamics of stand transpiration and stomatal conductance were analyzed in rubber trees. The experiment was conducted using 13 yr-old rubber trees from clone RRIM 600 under natural conditions at the Chachoengsao Rubber Research Center during January to December 2007, with sampling in the dry season, the rainy season and early in the dry season. At the stand level, the stand transpiration was monitored using sap fl ow measurement and estimated evapotranspiration from meteorological data. At the leaf level, the stomatal conductance was measured using a portable photosynthesis system on the leaves exposed to the sun. The leaf water potential was measured using a pressure chamber and the soil water content was measured by the gravimetric method. Climatic measurements were recorded using a weather station above the canopy. The plant water status was correlated with the climatic conditions and soil water content. The diurnal dynamics of stand transpiration and stomatal conductance were mainly controlled by the vapor pressure defi cit and net radiation. The stomatal conductance was more sensitive to climatic variations than stand transpiration. There were different time lags between the stomatal conductance and stand transpiration throughout the year. The relationship between the climatic factors and transpiration varied throughout the year. (Résumé d'auteur

Financialisation in the green economy: material connections, markets-in-the-making and Foucauldian organising actions

This paper explores the connections between financialisation in the green economy and the material commodification processes that underpin this economy. It argues that these connections are important and can be usefully conceived in terms of spaces of mutuality. These spaces of mutuality direct attention to the material processes of value creation at the level of real environmental assets. That these material processes appear thin, sluggish, fractured, hybridised or stalled in practice invites new modes of analytical engagement. One important mode of analysing these emergent green projects is to emphasise their status as durable processes of becoming or what could be called markets-in-the-making, by going beyond forms of market and economic reductionism. Michel Foucault's analysis of neoliberalism and his idea of ‘organising actions’ prove useful in this regard. Foucauldian organising actions render markets-in-the-making projects visible as durable governmental apparatuses made of disparate elements that are geographically specific, historically contingent and are aligned with an overarching market telos. Drawing on an empirical case of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation plus carbon stock enhancement and sustainable forest management (REDD+) in Nigeria’s Cross River, the paper analyses organising actions along four meta-processes – problematisations, visions, implementation and stabilisation. It concludes by highlighting the wider implications for work on environmental financialisation

Getting real about food prices

The 2008 price spike in world grain prices had serious impacts on food security and poverty but analysts have consistently described these real food prices as low in historical terms. The inconsistency between the severity of the food crisis and low real prices results from the use of advanced and global economy price indices to calculate real prices. This ignores the high share of food in poor people’s expenditures and indirect effects of income growth on expenditure patterns of rich and poor consumers. Poor consumers have not experienced the same falls in real food prices as those with growing incomes and are more vulnerable to price shocks. As high and fluctuating international grain prices appear to be a feature of the current world economy, food price and policy analysis must recognise this, and develop and use different price indices that take account of differences between consumer groups

Designing and implementing a communications strategy: lessons learnt from HIV and Sexual and Reproductive Health Research Programme Consortia.

In recent years there has been increasing recognition of the importance of strategic research communication. Health research organisations need to be able to communicate their research effectively to increase the probability that the findings influence policy and practice, and benefit those in greatest need. Many research funders are making communications a requirement of research funding. This paper reflects on the experience in developing and implementing communications strategies of several Research Programme Consortia funded by the Department for International Development.Different research topics will require different communications approaches in order to be effective. This is reflected in the diversity of strategies employed by different research programmes. Strategic research communications designed to influence policy and practice require different skills and expertise from those required for carrying out research and writing it up for publication in academic journals. Therefore researchers involved in communicating research should be supported in this work. One of the ways in which research programme consortia have sought to do this is through convening workshops to develop the communications skills of researchers from partner organisations. These have proven invaluable. Another way of providing ongoing support to those involved in communicating research is through a Communications Community of Practice. Where this has been used it has proven a good way to support researchers both with ideas and resources, but also a strong sense of belonging to a community that shares a common concern with communication. Developing strong partnerships with research users, other research organisations, knowledge intermediaries and other stakeholders is vital for effective communication.Embracing the challenges and opportunities presented by communicating research to influence policy practice is vital if research is to have maximum possible impact, and demonstrate its worth at a time when funding for health and development activities is at risk. Sharing lessons learnt in this process between research programmes is important to support this work