Exploring the relationship between tourism and offshore finance in small island economies: lessons from Jersey

Many islands host tourism and offshore finance but research tends to focus on either industry without examining the nature of the relationship(s) between these two where they co-exist. This paper examines the nature of the relationships using a case study of the British Channel Island of Jersey. Both industries demand labour, land and capital that are frequently scarce in small islands. Given their common characteristics and, drawing lessons from Jersey, the paper then considers the nature and the dynamics of their relationship, and the issue of resource competition between the two sectors. In light of the unusual context of small polities and the political power of external actors, the paper also analyses the dynamics of the central relationship between tourism, offshore finance and the state in islands. Finally, the paper considers the overall impact of the relationship between tourism and offshore finance and how it affects the economic development trajectory of small islands.tax havens, island tourism, island development

Stratiform clouds and their interaction with atmospheric motions

During the 1987 to 1988 academic year, three projects were finished and plans were made to redirect and focus work in a proposal now being reviewed. The completed work involves study of waves on an equatorial beta-plane in shear flow, investigation of the influence of orography on the index cycle, and analysis of a model of cloud street development in a thermally-forced, sheared environment. The proposed work involves study of boundary layer circulations supporting stratocumulus decks and investigation of how the radiative effects of these clouds modulate larger-scale flows such as those associated with the index oscillation

Forage Seed Quality: Dormancy, Standards and Quarantine

There are many dimensions to the concept of seed quality. Viable seed which will not germinate when provided with all the requirements for germination is dormant. Forage grasses mostly exhibit non-deep physiological dormancy (PD), while physical dormancy (PY) is common in forage legumes where imbibition is prevented by the seed coat’s impermeability to water (hard seed). Methods for breaking PD and PY to allow germination testing and/or crop establishment are discussed. In the seed industry seed quality standards are an important feature of quality assurance and may apply for seed production contracts, seed certification, seed sale and seed importing. Standards for these uses are discussed, with a comment on legislated minimum germination standards which may do little to offer protection to the buyer. Exported seed lots must meet the seed quality standards and phytosanitory/biosecurity requirements of the importing country, but while there is an obvious need to protect against the spread of economically important pests, they should not be used as unnecessary barriers to the seed trade

Effects of cover crops and tillage in a muskmelon production system

Most muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) production in the upper Midwest relies on intensive tillage and plasticulture. An alternative system starts with the use of a roller-crimper to terminate winter cover crops, thus forming a thick organic mulch. Then, all tillage performed is restricted to a narrow strip in which muskmelons are transplanted. Cover crops and strip-tillage can increase soil health, suppress weeds, and improve net profitability. Muskmelons are an important crop for vegetable growers and are among the top consumed produce items in the U.S. Foodborne illness outbreaks of Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes associated with muskmelon consumption have resulted in consumer fatalities, and negatively impacted the livelihood of producers. A study was carried out over two seasons (2014-15 and 2015-16) to assess the effect of cover crops and tillage on the performance of muskmelon production. Data was collected on cover crop growth, soil temperature, soil moisture, weed biomass, the concentration of nitrate-nitrogen in leachate, soil nutrient concentrations, muskmelon plant growth, soil microbial biomass carbon, soil microbial functional diversity, muskmelon yield, net profitability, and fruit quality. Our goal was to take a comprehensive view of the differences between the use of cover crops [no cover, cereal rye (Secale cereale L.), and cereal rye-hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth)] with conventional tillage and strip-tillage. We also assessed how treatments would affect the survival of soilborne Listeria innocua, a non-pathogenic surrogate for the human pathogen L. monocytogenes, either applied near the time of cover crop planting or near cover crop termination. We hypothesized that cover crop based ST would increase soil moisture, reduce weed biomass, reduce nitrate-nitrogen leaching, increase soil microbial biomass carbon, increase microbial functional diversity, and fruit quality, without sacrificing yield or net profitability. We also tested the hypothesis that cover crop mulch would prevent the contamination of muskmelon fruits by soilborne L. innocua. In one year, the earlier termination of cover crops in conventional tillage plots and also the use of a rye-vetch biculture lowered the C:N ratio of cover crop biomass. Cover crops and strip-tillage did reduce weed biomass, though not consistently over both years. In-row soil moisture was higher in strip-tillage, and in-row soil temperature was higher in conventional tillage. Strip-tillage occasionally reduced the concentration of NO3-ÃÂì-N in leachate, this effect was inconsistent and only observed at a few sampling dates for only one year of the study. Rye-CT increased microbial biomass carbon over no cover-CT. During one year of the study, microbial functional diversity increased in rye and rye-vetch plots. The proportion of fruits that were marketable was increased under strip-tillage, as were several measures of fruit quality, but only in 2016. Populations of L. innocua introduced to the field in Oct. were able to overwinter and were detected the following May. The survival of May-applied L. innocua was measured in the first year of the study and showed that populations were reduced under both rye and rye-vetch cover crops. Treatments had no effect on the contamination of fruits at harvest. An economic analysis had mixed results, no cover strip-till plots had the lowest profit in both years, and rye strip-tillage and rye-vetch strip-tillage out performed their respective conventional tillage treatments in one year