Latin colonization in Italy before the end of the Second Punic War:Colonial communities and cultural change

Voordat Rome een wereldrijk stichtte, veroverde het eerst Italië. De belangrijkste militaire successen werden geboekt in de late vierde en vroege derde eeuw v. Chr., waarna Rome lange tijd de touwtjes in handen hield via een combinatie van direct bestuur en verdragen met geallieerden. In dit systeem speelden door Rome gestichte kolonies een belangrijke rol als militaire steunpunten en (grotendeels) betrouwbare bondgenoten. Dit proefschrift onderzoekt hoe deze kolonies een bijdrage leverden aan culturele veranderingen in deze formatieve periode van de Romeinse geschiedenis. In lijn met recent onderzoek bestrijdt het de visie dat de kolonies simpelweg Romeinse cultuur verspreidden. Op basis van onderzoek naar een breed spectrum aan bronmateriaal (geschreven bronnen, inscripties, munten, archeologisch materiaal) brengt het proefschift de verschillende contacten in kaart die de kolonies beïnvloedden, en onderzoekt het hoe bestaande culturele modellen in de kolonies werden aangepast en nieuwe betekenissen kregen. Op deze manier wordt een dynamischer beeld van de kolonies geschetst: zij opereerden grotendeels zelfstandig in een complexe culturele wereld, en leverden op die manier een actieve bijdrage aan de culturele vorming van Italië onder de heerschappij van Rome

Adaptive decision-making under conditions of uncertainty: the case of farming in the Volta delta, Ghana

Farming in Ghana’s Volta delta is increasingly affected by variability in rainfall conditions and changes in land-use patterns. Under such socio-ecological conditions, little is known about farmers’ decision-making in response to uncertainties in uncertain rainfall conditions. To fill this gap and add to the literature on adaptive decision-making, we addressed the central question: what are the existing patterns of farming decision-making under uncertain rainfall conditions, and which decision-making strategies are adaptive? We developed an adaptive decision-making framework to investigate the behavior of farmers under variable rainfall conditions in Ghana’s Volta delta in the Ada East District. We conducted 5 interviews with agricultural extension agents, 44 in-depth interviews and 4 focus group discussion with farmers. Subsequently, we interviewed a sub-selection of 32 farmers. Findings of the study shows that farmers carry out different decision-making patterns in response to the variable rainfall conditions. We distinguished six strategies: three based on flexibility and three based on robustness. Flexible adaptive decision-making strategies are switching dates for sowing seeds through wait-and-see or delay strategy, muddling through the farming season with the application of various options and alternative irrigation strategies. Robust adaptive decision-making strategies are portfolio strategy of transplanting seedlings in batches, selection of robust (hardy) crops, and intercropping or diversification. Based on how farmers select strategies in response to uncertainty in rainfall conditions, we argue that some decision-making strategies are more adaptive than others. Findings of this study are relevant for the design and implementation of climate related agricultural projects.</p

The Struggle of Farming Systems in Europe:Looking for Explanations through the Lens of Resilience

Many farming systems in Europe are struggling to respond to accumulating economic, environmental, institutional and social challenges. From a resilience perspective, they need three distinct capacities to continue delivering products, income and public goods: robustness, adaptability and transformability. Based on a structured assessment of the resilience capacities of 11 farming systems across Europe we conclude that three mismatches likely contribute to their struggles. First, while farming systems comprised many non‐farm actors, resilience strategies largely focused on farms and their robustness, neglecting other options and opportunities. Second, while the delivery of public goods such as biodiversity and attractive landscapes was seen as a major concern, most resilience strategies focused on the delivery of private goods. Third, while in many farming systems actors expressed the need for transformation, farming systems’ capacity to transform was perceived as low. Building on the differentiated concept of resilience, findings can guide policymakers, farming system actors, consumers and societal interest groups to identify pathways towards more resilient agricultural systems in Europe

Agrarische ondernemers over de mestwetgeving : beleving van het mestbeleid: draagvlak, knelpunten en oplossingen

Akkerbouwers, melkveehouders en varkenshouders vinden het goed dat er een mestbeleid is en hebben de intentie om hier nauwkeurig aan te blijven voldoen, ook als het verder wordt aangescherpt. Het draagvlak voor het huidige mestbeleid, ofwel de mate waarin ondernemers achter het beleid staan, is echter gering bij agrarische ondernemers en andere belanghebbenden. Dit is een belangrijke conclusie uit het onderzoek naar de beleving van het mestbeleid door agrarische ondernemers en andere belanghebbenden dat is uitgevoerd in het kader van de evaluatie van de mestwetgeving in 2016

Improving the resilience‐enabling capacity of the Common Agricultural Policy: policy recommendations for more resilient EU farming systems

One of the aims of the post‐2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is to improve the resilience of Europe's farming systems. The CAP of the budget period 2014–2020, however, has insufficiently supported the resilience of farming systems. The ongoing CAP reform process offers an appropriate opportunity to integrate a broader perspective on resilience in the CAP. We therefore propose a set of policy recommendations on how to improve the capability of the CAP to support more fully the resilience (i.e. robustness, adaptability and transformability) of farming systems in the EU. The policy recommendations are based on a comparative analysis of six national co‐design workshops with stakeholders and a final EU‐level workshop with Brussels‐based experts. We concluded three key lessons about the CAP's influence on resilience: (1) resilience challenges, needs and policy effects are context‐specific; (2) resilience capacities are complementary, but trade‐offs between robustness, adaptability and transformability occur at the level of policies and due to budget competition; (3) there is a need for a coordinated long‐term vision for Europe's agriculture, which is difficult to achieve through the bargaining processes associated with a CAP reform. We propose specific policy recommendations that could contribute to a better balance between policies that support robustness, adaptability and transformability of Europe's farming systems

Policies and Farming System Resilience

The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy appears essential for farming systems’ resilience, but its resilience-enabling effects in practice remain underexplored. We assessed how farming system actors perceive the CAP’s effects on resilience. The CAP contains a robustness-oriented approach, which actors expect to buffer stress and shocks, while adaptation receives less support and transformation is neglected. Policies need to a take a broader, integrated approach towards farming systems’ resilience

There is No Single Challenge, Nor Single Solution, for Food Systems Transformations: Making plurality visible

There is a growing call (and agreement) to transform food systems towards sustainable, just and healthy systems, understanding that transformation is about fundamental, system- wide changes, beyond piecemeal interventions (see Box 1 for the new FACCE-JPI approach to food systems). But, what does transformation look like? Is there a consensus about what we want to transform in food systems, who will do it and how? The objective of this policy brief is to call for fairer, more inclusive and eventually, more effective decisions on food systems transformations. For doing so, it focuses on decision-making under uncertainty, highlighting complexity and framings as two components of this: On one hand complexity requires us to avoid oversimplification of messages (see the livestock section) and on the other, framing calls for the integration of a plurality of values and worldviews (see the governance section). Thus, in the context of the UNFSS objective of transforming food systems, this brief aims to raise awareness of decision makers about the need of developing and using knowledge and tools that i) tackle the complexity of food systems as complex social-ecological systems, and ii) recognise the existence of different framing and values in a context of uncertainty. We also reflect on the role of science in this process. While our focus is global, we focus on Europe to exemplify our arguments. Yet, transformation cannot happen in one world region independently from the others. A global movement requires first adopters to start the process.Peer reviewe

Technology and Society in Equilibrium:

This sector portrait of the design engineering sciences describes the common denominator of the various design disciplines in the Netherlands. In a future sector plan, the above investment areas will be further explored and purposefully developed. The implementation of technological innovations aligned to societal issues encompasses a design challenge. This increasingly demands science-based design methodologies. The broad Dutch design landscape can fulfil the role of connector well in this regard. In order to optimally strengthen this bridging function, three areas for further investment have been identified: Research More research and research funding are needed to meet the design challenges posed by Dutch societal missions, as well as for the further development of Key Enabling Methodologies (KEMs) as the basis for effective design. Educational Capacity Expanded teaching capacity and further development of design-driven didactics are needed to meet the growing demand for designers, This demand stems from the emerging need for design approaches in new research programmes within Horizon Europe and the Dutch Research Council (NWO). Access to Technology Continuous access to the rapidly evolving technological disciplines must be guaranteed for professionals who can both understand the technology and meet the investigative design challenge

Analyzing the Data-Rich-But-Information-Poor Syndrome in Dutch Water Management in Historical Perspective

Water quality monitoring has developed over the past century from an unplanned, isolated activity into an important discipline in water management. This development also brought about a discontent between information users and information producers about the usefulness and usability of information, in literature often referred to as the data-rich-but-information-poor syndrome. This article aims to gain a better understanding of this issue by studying the developments over some five decades of Dutch national water quality monitoring, by analyzing four studies in which the role and use of information are discussed from different perspectives, and by relating this to what is considered in literature as useful information. The article concludes that a “water information gap” exists which is rooted in different mutual perceptions and expectations between the two groups on what useful information is, that can be overcome by improving the communication. Such communication should be based on willingness to understand and deal with different mindframes and should be based on a methodology that guides and structures the interactions