1,691 research outputs found

    Swedish research in organic farming and food systems

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    In Sweden research is mainly conducted by researchers at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). The SLU departments of Soil Science, Ecology and Crop Production Science (now Crop Production Ecology), Entomology, Animal Nutrition and Management, Animal Breeding and Genetics, Animal Environment and Health, Agricultural Biosystems and Technology, Crop Science and Agricultural Research for Northern Sweden are conducting research. This research is mainly financed by the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (Formas) through the national programme for organic agricultural research. Furthermore SLU research is funded under the programme for applied research for experimentation and development in organic farming, which is financed by the Swedish Board of Agriculture (SJV). Within the “Ekoforsk” Programme based at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) university scientists are commonly cooperating with advisors connected to private and public extension service institutions and organisations. Finally, the Swedish Farmers´Foundation for Agricultural Research (SLF), which is a levy board, funds a substantial part of research in organic farming, especially applied research in organic primary production systems

    Utilizing Estate Plans to Achieve Economic Justice

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    Bayview has been the home to many black families for decades. However, the inability of title-holders to create distribution plans for their estate before their death has contributed to their ultimate displacement. When a title-holder of property dies, their property is required to go through a court system known as probate. The probate court system has various functions ranging from identifying assets, calculating any owed taxes and fees, and distributing property. The only way to avoid probate is through the execution of a probate-avoidance distribution document, which is mentioned in further detail below. The probate court system, to say the least, is complex and expensive. Apart from the difficulty of having to navigate the probate court system, there are various additional consequences that come with a title-holder not having a distribution plan for their assets at all. Furthermore, recent studies have shown that the issue of dying without having a distribution plan is more common for low-income black homeowners than their white counterparts. This paper discusses how the lack of distribution plans has resulted in the displacement of many low-income black residents and what can be done to address this ongoing issue. Part II of this essay describes the relevant demographic history of Bayview, San Francisco, California. Part III provides details about the probate court system. Part IV expands on specific challenges that entail conducting transfers of wealth. Part V touches on the role that race and class have on one’s ability to conduct transfers of wealth. Lastly, Part VI presents various ideas for achieving economic justice in both legal education and practice

    Coaching for accelerated research productivity in Higher Education

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    It is recognized that combining a thorough orientation to academic life and its expectations with intensive training in conceptualising research can accelerate the careers of early career academics. Unique to the structured support programme for research productivity and publication at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, was ongoing internal coaching of participants. In the study reported here in-depth interviews of participants and coaches were used to collect data. Internal coaches are academics without being experts in the participants’ disciplines. Goal alignment linked to both individual and organisational objectives resulted in tangible outcomes for research, publication and career changes. Less tangible outcomes concern the value of coaching; coaching during career or personal critical incidents and the important shifts in thinking which occurred. The outcomes have drawn additional funding to the University, and there is ongoing wider implementation across faculties of the programme with internal coaching

    Exploring close consumer-producer links to maintain and enhance on-farm biodiversity

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    This paper deals with the question of whether local selling of farm products improves on-farm biodiversity. In contrast to the main agricultural trend of farms specialising and increasing in size in response to the national and global markets, increasing numbers of Swedish farmers are instead diverting their efforts towards selling at local markets. Based on a study of six farms, the paper explores the nature of diversity on these farms and identifies factors supporting diversity. The study shows that farmers who interact with consumers are encouraged to diversify their production. The actual crops and varieties grown are determined by a combination of the natural conditions prevailing on the farm and the conditions created by the farmer in terms of marketing strategy for the products

    Mentoring of early career academics in South African higher education : a transformation strategy

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    Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, 2004Early career academics in South Africa enter a higher education system with a historical legacy of division along lines of past discrimination and apartheid. The higher education system has been undergoing profound transformation in the last decade through the promulgation of the SAQA Act (No 58 of 1995) and the Higher Education Act No 101 of 1997. Although numbers of black students at historically advantaged, predominantly white higher education institutions have increased dramatically in the past decade to over 50% in some cases, the change in the academic staff at these institutions has not been nearly as rapid. Less than 30% of the academic staff is black, even at institutions which consider themselves to be progressive. The argument in this research is that the professional socialisation and development of early career academics in all South Africa universities is generally neglected or receives scanty attention and that the professional development in teaching which they receive at entry-level, is minimal. Although mentoring as a professional development strategy has been shown in many studies to have a positive impact in careers at entrylevel, South African universities are not doing enough to support and develop early career academics and consequently the transformation of higher education is being retarded by institutional lack of support. The case of the University of the Witwatersrand illustrates the situation common in many higher education institutions. The purpose of the study is to investigate mentoring as a transformation strategy for the professional development and socialisation in the career development and management of the early careers of entry-level academics to higher education in South Africa where transformation of higher education is a critical issue on the national agenda. In this study there are 28 early career academics in formal mentoring relationships as a result of specially designed mentoring programmes or academic internships which have been established since 1999. They were interviewed in-depth for their interpretations of their experiences in formal mentoring programmes where almost all the mentors are white and the majority of mentees belong to different cultural groups. The findings in the study show how necessary it is for early career academics to be paired with mentors who are aware of the functions and roles of mentors in higher education and who are seriously committed to fulfilling those roles themselves or in conjunction with others in their networks. One new career development function and one new psychosocial function of mentors were added to a model of existing functions derived from the literature. Transformation is an important new function of mentors and their function as role models is emphasised by the context of this mentoring research. Mentoring may be lauded as the panacea for transformation in higher education but unless mentors are adequately trained, supported and monitored, and are committed to transformation, the strategy is not likely to meet with success. Mentoring in cross-cultural contexts in higher education in South Africa is also likely to be only partially successful because too little is being done to address the effects of institutional and covert racism which lingers on. A wide spectrum of recommendations is made for making mentoring work in higher education institutions. These range from broadly based macro interventions at national and institutional levels, to quite detailed micro interventions at the individual level. Without a systematic and committed thrust throughout the sector to accelerate transformation, the whole sector is likely to languish and busy itself with meeting legislative demands for equity compliance and quality assurance drives without addressing the fundamental issues of developing those young academics who are instrumental in transforming the system.WS201

    Tinkering, Tailoring, and Transforming: Retention of Scientific Excellence of Women Researchers through WiSER mentoring

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    Women are under-represented in academic grades in Higher Education, but more so in science, engineering and technology (SET) disciplines. This under-representation of women undermines the potential gains the community of science can attain by utilising the skills, talents and knowledge of all those who are trained to work in SET. The European Union statistics show that women are equally represented at undergraduate stage but become progressively more under-represented in the more senior academic positions. This article presents a case study of a mentoring programme in the Centre for Women in Science and Engineering Research (WiSER) at Trinity College Dublin. Its aim is the recruiting, retaining, returning and advancing women in academic science, engineering and technology. WiSER seeks to develop sustainable practices to ensure that women can compete in research in an equitable manner with male colleagues using their scientific expertise, knowledge and potential. The outcomes of the programme are reported for mentors, mentees and Trinity College and retention data are given for the women a year after the programme ended

    On the norm sensitivity of younger mobile phone users: Perceived social norms and phubbing in interactions between younger and older generations

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    Younger and older mobile phone users differ in their tolerance of phubbing, that is, using one’s phone in face-to-face interactions. Yet, there is limited knowledge of how phubbing norms influence phone use in intergenerational interactions. We conducted an online survey among younger (aged ≤ 41; n = 105) and older adults (n = 104), compared their generation-specific normative perceptions, and analyzed how these perceived norms were correlated with intergenerational phubbing. The results suggest a particular norm sensitivity of younger phone users, meaning that they not only had generation-specific normative perceptions, but that they also adapted their phone use to the older generation’s phubbing norms in interactions with them

    Community development workers programme: mentoring for social transformation in the public service in post-apartheid South Africa

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    The new public sector community development workers (CDWs) programme was established in 2004 following ineffective service delivery through chronic under-spending on annual budgets in post-apartheid South Africa. CDWs receive training in learnerships within the National Skills Development Strategy to ensure access to and spending of local government poverty alleviation funding allocated for housing, childcare grants, and pensions and other services. As learnership mentors are mandatory, this research investigates the formal mentoring of CDWs after learnership programmes. CDWs and their mentors from two large municipalities participated. The main findings show inadequate formal mentoring of CDWs despite legislative requirements. Crucial mentoring for career development and psychosocial support is patchy and uneven. Social transformation of communities and access to government services and grants is likely to take longer than anticipated if CDWs are not adequately mentored during their training and in workplace learning
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