Sorghum and food security in Southern Africa: present and future research priorities of technical scientists

A research paper on sorghum and food security in Southern Africa.Maize, sorghum and pearl millet are important summer cereals in the SADCC region. Maize is by far the dominant crop. Generally, maize is grown in good farming environments, sorghum in drier areas and pearl millet in hot dry conditions. The yield potential of maize and sorghum is about the same, but that of pearl millet is less (50-60 percent) when all three crops are well managed and under conditions of no stress. Africa is a traditional sorghum - millet area but maize has encroached over the last 50-70 years and the process is still taking place. The reverse is true in Latin America, particularly Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil where sorghum has encroached into traditional maize growing areas. The Buenos Aires district of Argentina is an example where maize was the dominant crop and it was yielding 1750 kg/hectare. Over a period of years in the early-mid 1970s, the average yield of both sorghum and maize increased to 2250 kg/ha and sorghum replaced maize in the drier parts of the district

Patterns of Late Cenozoic exhumation deduced from apatite and zircon U-He ages from Fiordland, New Zealand

New apatite and zircon (U-Th)/He ages from the Fiordland region of New Zealand's South Island expand on earlier results and provide new constraints on patterns of Late Cenozoic exhumation and cooling across this region. Zircon (U-Th)/He cooling ages, in combination with increased density of apatite ages, show that in addition to a gradual northward decrease in cooling ages that was seen during an earlier phase of this study, there is also a trend toward younger cooling ages to the east. Distinct breaks in cooling age patterns on southwestern Fiordland appear to be correlated to the location of previously mapped faults. The northward decrease in ages may reflect asynchronous cooling related to migration in the locus of exhumation driven by subduction initiation, or it may reflect synchronous regional exhumation that exposed different structural levels across Fiordland, or some combination of these effects. In either case, differential exhumation accommodated by major and minor faults that dissect Fiordland basement rocks apparently played an important role in producing the resulting age patterns

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The devonian goniatites of Devon and Cornwall

A description of the devonian goniatites and their localities in Devon and Cornwall is given based upon museum material and new collecting. This enables correlation with the established continental successions and the following German ammonoid faunas have been recognized. The fauna of the Anarcestes Stufe has been recognized in South Devon and probably in Cornwall. Two faunal subdivisions of the Maenioceras Stufe have been recognized, the lowest only at Wolborough, South Devon, the uppermost at Lummaton and Barton, Devon and Trevone and Portquin, North Cornwall (the last two localities have previously been identified with the Cheiloceras Stufe). The three German zones of the Frasnian have been identified in South Devon but only the middle one with certainty in North Cornwall. The Famennian ammonoids have not been exhaustively examined. Only Maenioceras Stufe goniatites occur in the massive lime stones of South Devon which appear to be wholly Givetian in age ; no Frasnian goniatites occur within them but they are found in the thin-bedded or rubbly limestones immediately above. The absence of evidence for the Cheiloceras Stufe emphasises the widespread development of ostracod-slate facies at that time. The recognition of the Gattendorfia and Wocklumeria Stufen (largely the work of others) tells against the large unconformity usually supposed to mark the base of the Carboniferous in South-West England. Ontogenetical details are given for several species: the evidence from Maenioceras shows that it probably evolved direct from Anarcestes or early Wemeroceras. Peculiar internal growths on specimens of Sobolewia shed light on the relation of the soft parts to the shell in goniatites

AT-HOME AND AWAY-FROM-HOME CONSUMPTION OF SEAFOOD IN THE UNITED STATES

At-home consumption of shrimp, oysters, and catfish is investigated, using data from a mail survey conducted in 2000-2001. Results indicated consumers probability and frequency of consumption decreased if consumers felt they lacked preparation knowledge, product preparation was too time consuming, or the smell was unattractive. Demographics were also significant.Consumer/Household Economics,

Evaluating in a Fragmented Society

Background: Over decades American society has become increasingly fragmented, distrusting, and unequal. Distrust and inequality interact with institutions performing improperly to weaken the society. Purpose: To suggest ways to strengthen evaluation’s role in a changing society Setting: Evaluation has entered a post normal phase where evaluations are losing credibility and effectiveness. Intervention: Analyze the changing society and suggest adjustments that evaluators might make. Research design: Collate and synthesize empirical studies about society and the implications for evaluators. Data collection and analysis: Collect and interpret seminal empirical economic, sociological, and political studies of beliefs and inequality in the United States. Findings: To strengthen the potency of evaluations of any type, evaluators could act as moral fiduciaries, practice transparency, cultivate cognitive empathy, focus on deep stories and deep values, and mitigate inequalities in the evaluation space. They can act as critics of evaluation practices inside and outside the evaluation space. They should avoid technical, social, and situational biases, including racism, sexism, and conflicts of interest, to increase the honesty and credibility of evaluations. They should not allow career concerns to prevent them from doing the right thing. These professional ethics and practices can be applied singly or collectively to most evaluation approaches to strengthen the evaluator’s role and address major societal problems. Keywords: moral fiduciary; cognitive empathy; post normal; inequality; transparency; distrust; deep stories; value