A Preliminary Analysis of the Benefits of Introducing Apomixis into Rice

The objective of this research is to undertake an ex ante economic analysis of basic scientific research that aims to identify the gene(s) that control apomictic reproduction, with the ultimate aim of transferring the characteristic into commercially important crops. This paper reports very preliminary results, using the introduction of apomixis into rice as a case study. Apomixis is a natural, asexual method of plant reproduction resulting in offspring that are genetically identical to the mother plant. Apomixis promises to revolutionize plant breeding by providing a system for crop improvement that allows any desired variety, including hybrids, to breed true. This ability will make both breeding and seed production more efficient. It offers the opportunity for plant breeders to more readily develop varieties that are specifically adapted to local conditions, using, and thus conserving, greater genetic diversity. Apomixis will also allow resource-poor farmers to replant the seed they produce from locally bred varieties year after year, a strategy not possible with today's commercial hybrid varieties. Global changes in aggregate welfare, resource allocation, production and price levels are calculated using the global economy-wide computable general equilibrium model known as GTAP. Preliminary modeling results suggest that the overall welfare gains associated apomictic rice could be substantial.Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Land Economics/Use, Production Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Economic Considerations of Animal Welfare Policy

Animal welfare considerations are becoming increasingly important for producers of animal-derived agricultural products. Recent media attention on issues of housing conditions for intensively reared livestock and induced calving in dairy production make it clear that some members of the public feel strongly about the overall welfare of farm animals. In many cases, practices that are now perceived as welfare unfriendly are also associated with lower per-unit costs of production, creating a ‘classic’ economic trade-off between production and welfare objectives. In this paper a relatively simple partial equilibrium model is used to illustrate that the distributional impacts of animal welfare regulations (for both humans and animals) depend critically on whether the domestic market is open to international competition. A preliminary case study involving housing options for sows in New Zealand provides an empirical illustration of the possible magnitude of the costs of welfare enhancing policies in a small open economy when the country is a net importer. The fact that welfare enhancing policy is driven by consumers who do not share the resulting economic burden raises important philosophical questions about how society defines what is acceptable on welfare grounds, and whether there is any economic justification for mitigating the costs when they accrue only to one sector of the economy.Animal welfare, partial equilibrium analysis, externality, economic surplus, Agribusiness, Farm Management, Livestock Production/Industries,

Virtual Alchemies: Can New Learning Technologies Transform Police Training?

This was a collaborative action research project with three, mixed method evaluation cycles. Its aim was to increase the impact of new learning technologies (NLT) in two Police Forces. The first reconnaissance cycle found a significant absence of uptake for one computer based training system (<1% impact after five years) with only assumptions of ‘technological determinism’ driving the process. A range of individual, work related and cultural factors were illuminated, towards understanding how the Force might become a ‘network’ organisation, where technology fundamentally transforms how work is done (Symon, 2000). Following the qualitative interview study, a quantitative survey was carried out with 164 respondents on the areas of concern for NLT in the Police. Factor analysis of this data reinforced a parsimonious five factor solution, accounting for 55% of the variance and on which to proceed with cycles two and three. In the second cycle, 130 Police Probationers completed a battery of psychometrics to assess individual difference factors associated with successful outcomes in training with NLT. Results showed 27% of the variance on a bespoke NLT learning measure was predicted by computer attitudes. Age, gender, education, motivational and almost all personality measures offered no significant contribution to explaining the data. The bespoke learning criterion was used as a pre-test, post-test and retention measure and showed significant increases in knowledge were gained from NLT: effective and efficient learning was evidenced. Also in the second cycle, a sub-sample of (n=20-34) Probationers participated in two stages of repertory grid interviews rating different elements of Police training methods. From these data an ‘Ideal Probationer Learning Event’ (IPLE) model was proposed. This was stable over time and positioned NLT within a conceptual structure that identified preferred and non-preferred construct poles equating to four dimensions along which Police officers reliably rated any training event. In essence, it highlighted sites of perceived credibility and offered these as levers for creative change. Follow-up work with 120 Probationers using another example of NLT explored how integration of learning from NLT could occur from a learner-centered point of view, using an interpretive concept mapping technique. This illuminated sites of power exchange and the location of ‘ownership’ of learning in Police culture. The IPLE model was used to direct the third cycle which included constructivist and contingency perspectives. It was propsed that by creatively designing an NLT event to increase elements of the preferred constructs discovered in cycle two, integration of an NLT event would enable the transformative properties of NLT as a to manifest themselves. A sample of up to 60 Police Staff used an NLT package alongside a bespoke, collaborative e-learning group. Criterions were developed according to skill breadth, frequency and difficulty and significant increases in learning were not only found, but maintained following completion of NLT when retention was measured. The e-learning group brought some of the credible elements of training to the NLT event, thereby constituting a ‘unique solution’ (Seltzer, 1971). It created peer learning groups, despite geographical separation. Data for each level of Kirkpatrick’s (1959; 1960) ‘best practice’ training evaluation model was collected enabling the conclusion that creative integration is key to a network uptake of NLT

The Distributional Implications for Higher Farm Animal Welfare in New Zealand

Over the past few decades the relative price of eggs has fallen dramatically in New Zealand. This has been made possible, at least in part, by the application of increasingly intensive agricultural practices. However, there is also growing pressure from consumers and animal rights groups around the world to ban the use of conventional/barren cages for egg production on animal welfare grounds. In this paper a simple partial equilibrium model is used to provide a preliminary estimate of the welfare effects of moving to alternative housing systems for egg laying hens in New Zealand. Results indicate that in a market where demand is relatively inelastic and trade is restricted for sanitary reasons, the cost of improving hen welfare will be born largely by consumers. This raises difficult distributional issues, as market research indicates that nearly 80% of the eggs currently sold in New Zealand supermarkets are cage eggs, and the heaviest purchasers of eggs are those with large families and limited budgets.Farm Management, Livestock Production/Industries,

Gifted and talented education in New Zealand schools: A decade later

In 2004, the Ministry of Education released research investigating identification of and provisions for gifted and talented students in New Zealand Schools (Riley, Bevan-Brown, Bicknell, Carroll-Lind, & Kearney, 2004). This was landmark research: the first national study of gifted and talented education funded by the Ministry and released alongside a range of initiatives for students and those who identify and educate them in the schooling sector. The research comprised a comprehensive review of the literature, a national survey of schools, and ten case studies of best practice, with an aim of creating “a roadmap for future research and initiatives” (2004, p. 36)

Developing young children's understanding of place-value using multiplication and quotitive division

This paper focuses on selected findings from a study that explored the use of multiplication and division with 34 five- and six-year-old children from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. The focus of instructional tasks was on working with groups of ten to support the understanding of place value. Findings from relevant assessment tasks and children’s work highlighted the importance of encouraging young children to move from unitary (counting by ones) to tens-structured thinking

Supporting the development of number fact knowledge in five- and six-year-olds

This paper focuses on children’s number fact knowledge from a study that explored the impact of using multiplication and division contexts for developing number understanding with 34 five- and six-year-old children from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. After a series of focused lessons, children’s knowledge of number facts, including single digit addition, subtraction, and doubles had improved. However, they did not always apply this knowledge to relevant problem-solving situations. The magnitude of the numbers did not necessarily determine the difficulty level for achieving automaticity of number fact knowledge