Limit groups and groups acting freely on R^n-trees

We give a simple proof of the finite presentation of Sela's limit groups by using free actions on R^n-trees. We first prove that Sela's limit groups do have a free action on an R^n-tree. We then prove that a finitely generated group having a free action on an R^n-tree can be obtained from free abelian groups and surface groups by a finite sequence of free products and amalgamations over cyclic groups. As a corollary, such a group is finitely presented, has a finite classifying space, its abelian subgroups are finitely generated and contains only finitely many conjugacy classes of non-cyclic maximal abelian subgroups.Comment: Published by Geometry and Topology at http://www.maths.warwick.ac.uk/gt/GTVol8/paper39.abs.htm

The value of the 1941-1943 National farm survey as a method for engagement with farmers in contemporary research

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Chiswell, H. M. (2014), The value of the 1941–1943 National Farm Survey as a method for engagement with farmers in contemporary research. Area, 46: 426–434. doi: 10.1111/area.12136, which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/area.12136/abstract. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.This article proposes the use of National Farm Survey (NFS) data and maps as a resource to support interviews with farmers and their families, across a wide range of geographical topics. The paper explores the origins of the NFS and evaluates its use as a reconstructive tool. Drawing directly on its use in recent empirical research into family farm succession as an example, the paper details the methodology, including the development of a Geographic Information System and the integration of the NFS data and maps into interview questions, as prompts and starting points. Using empirical data the paper evinces the benefits of deploying the NFS as a resource, including improving response rate, establishment of rapport, capturing of participant interest, facilitation of detailed responses and the stimulation of new trajectories and topics during the interview. Critically, use of the NFS in the proposed way means, in contrast to its previous applications, it is unencumbered by its inherent problems and inconsistencies, and interestingly, these problems can even become a source of strength for the researcher.John Oldacre Foundatio

The Importance of Next Generation Farmers: A Conceptual Framework to Bring the Potential Successor into Focus

Journal ArticleThis is the peer reviewed version of the article, which has been published in final form at DOI: 10.1111/gec3.12131. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.Intergenerational succession is understood as an integral facet of the family farm. The importance of the succession process and more specifically, successor identification, are critically discussed in the context of the widely propagated projections of global population growth and associated demands on the agricultural sector. Having established the merits of successor identification, the article then highlights the absence of the 'potential successor' from contemporary research and continues by offering a conceptual framework, capable of bringing this important research subject into focus as an autonomous and valuable actor, which, given the anticipated renaissance in agriculture, is perhaps now, more important than ever. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

The Cape Squadron, Admiral Baldwin Walker and the suppression of the slave trade (1861-4)

Bibliography: leaves 187-192.This dissertation is a study of the Royal Navy's campaign against the slave trade from their base at the Cape of Good Hope from 1861-4. During this period the Cape Squadron (which included the West African Station at this point) was under the command of Rear Admiral Sir Baldwin Walker. Under his command the first major successes against the East African slave trade were achieved. The study comprises of three main sections. The first gives background information about the Royal Navy, international relations and the state of the slave trade suppression at the time. The second examines the actions of the Cape Squadron under Walker's command. The third section gives detail of the cruises of specific Royal Navy ships and evaluates their success ( or otherwise) in suppressing the slave trade. Themes explored in this dissertation include the international nature of the slave trade, the policy of substituting legitimate trade for the slave trade, the influence of naval technology and how interactions between 'men on the spot' affected the success of suppression. Also explored is Britain's motivation for undertaking so difficult and expensive a task. Conclusions drawn are that the international nature of the slave trade and the lack of treaties (regarding the right to search shipping) with some powers, particularly France, greatly hindered the Royal Navy's suppression efforts. The substitution of legitimate trade for the slave trade worked successfully on the West African Coast but many of the legitimate enterprises relied upon slave labour, a fact which the British and other European powers chose to ignore. The personal interaction between men on the spot proved to be an important factor in determining the success (or failure) of the slave trade suppression efforts. New naval technologies were not as effective as they could have been in suppressing the slave trade due to the poor quality of ships assigned to the slave patrol (although this was remedied somewhat during Admiral Walker's tenure as Commander-in-Chief of the Cape Squadron). Britain's motivation for undertaking the suppression of the slave trade is shown to have been a combination of humanitarian concerns and political and economic expediency

The Effect of a Patient and Provider Education Program on Antibiotic Overuse in Respiratory Tract Infections in a Rural Primary Care Population

Objective: In the “walk-in” portion of the Jessamine Medical and Diagnostic Center (JMC) primary care (PC) practice in Jessamine County, Kentucky, a combination patient and provider education program was implemented to assess its effects on antibiotic prescribing in respiratory tract infections (RTIs). The goal was to conduct an evaluation of the patient and provider education program at JMC, by specifically examining changes in immediate antibiotic prescribing in RTI (i.e., prescription given during visit to start taking immediately) one-year after implementation of the education program (March 1, 2015- February 28, 2016). Methods: Utilizing a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design, a retrospective electronic medical record review was conducted to determine if an antibiotic (immediate or delayed) was prescribed during the visit for RTI for 207 randomly selected patients who were evaluated by a full-time “walk-in” care provider during the established evaluation time periods. Results: A total of 1,943 patients met initial inclusion and exclusion criteria. Through a random selection process, 207 patients (103 in the pre-intervention group and 104 in the post-intervention group) were included in the study. In the pre-intervention group, 58 were prescribed antibiotics, for an antibiotic prescription rate of 56.3%. Immediate antibiotics were prescribed in 32 of the encounters, for an immediate antibiotic prescribing rate of 31.1%. In the post-intervention group, antibiotics were prescribed in 30 of the 104 encounters, for a prescription rate of 28.8%. Immediate antibiotics were prescribed in only 14 of the 104 encounters, for a prescription rate of 13.5%. After the implementation of the intervention, there was a significant decrease in the number of antibiotics prescribed overall, Chi-square = 15.97 (DF = 1), p \u3c .001, as well as in the number of immediate antibiotics prescribed, Chi-square = 9.28 (DF = 1), p \u3c .05. Conclusions: The number of immediate and total antibiotic prescriptions for RTI decreased significantly in the year following implementation of the education program. Further evaluation is needed to determine if long-term sustainability, further reduction in antibiotic prescribing, and dissemination to the entire clinic can be achieved. The results of this study demonstrate to practitioners that education interventions can be effective in rural settings and that changes in antibiotic prescribing are possible

From generation to generation: Changing dimensions of intergenerational farm transfer

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.The transfer of managerial control between generations on the family farm has long been understood as a critical and often problematic phase, with implications for both the individual farm business and more broadly, the sustainability of family farming systems. Drawing on empirical data from interviews with prospective successors and farmers in Devon, England, the article provides a contemporary analysis of the transfer of managerial control on family farms. Although in line with traditional conceptualisations, findings reaffirm how many prospective successors were delegated tasks of increasing responsibility, with limited access to the higher responsibility financial management tasks, an emergent cohort of younger prospective successors enjoyed a contrasting progression towards managerial control, involving varied involvement across all aspects of farm management. With reference to late modernity and the individualisation thesis, the article explores how unconstrained by tradition the emerging cohort described a wealth of off-farm experiences, including what the article terms short-term diversions, which the analysis reveals have informed and shaped their progression towards managerial control. In view of these findings, the article offers an alternative and up-to-date conceptualisation of the transfer of managerial control in the form of the succession matrix, before considering the potential applications and some avenues for future research

A Recruitment Crisis in Agriculture? A Reply to Heike Fischer and Rob J.F. Burton's Understanding Farm Succession as Socially Constructed Endogenous Cycles

PublishedArticleThis is the peer reviewed version of the article, which has been published in final form at DOI: 10.1111/soru.12071. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.This short article responds to Fischer and Burton's article, ‘Understanding farm succession as socially constructed endogenous cycles’, featured in the last issue of Sociologia Ruralis. Broadly the article commends the concept of ‘socially constructed endogenous cycles’ as a way of conceptualising successor creation, but challenges some of Fischer and Burton's claims, with the aim of stimulating further discussion and research into intergenerational farm transfer. Drawing on a range of empirical research, the article explores the reality of the ‘recruitment crisis’ that Fischer and Burton suggest is occurring, and subsequently asks, is there an optimum level of familial succession? The article continues by exploring some of the other claims made by Fischer and Burton, including the impact of mechanisation on farm children's involvement in farm work, and challenges their suggestion that farmers are currently marginalised in society

'It's definitely a good time to be a farmer': Understanding the changing dynamics of successor creation in late modern society

This is the final version of the article. Available from Wiley via the DOI in this record.This paper considers the implications of the wider systemic shift from modernity to late modernity, on the process of intergenerational farm transfer. The paper argues that the shift from the collective to the individual, indicative of late modern society, is particularlypertinent in the context of intergenerational transfer, which has long been rooted in collective thinking. Drawing on the perspectives of incumbent farmers and potential successors, the paper utilises results from semi-structured interviews with 29 farmers and 19 potential successors in Devon, England. Using a thematic analysis, the paper provides a nuanced understanding of the impact of the systemic shift and the associated emphasis on the individual on successor identification. Although the paper reaffirms understanding of successor creation as a collective process, determined by factors such as gender and birth order, it also identifies an emergent cohort of younger potential successors, for whom succession was the outcome of an evaluation of farming as a career. It concludes that, within the case study area, modernization is changing the way in which farm children are identifying themselves as ‘the successor’. The paper suggests how this increasingly judicious approach to succession, leaves reproduction of the family farm increasingly vulnerable to negative externalities