Improving market intelligence for organic dairy production in Wales

This report was commissioned by Farming Connect via the Organic Centre Wales and was written and produced by the Soil Association Producer Services Department in February 2003. It has been made possible with the kind co-operation of the Federation of Milk Groups. Objectives 1. To develop a system of monthly data collection for Wales which is compatible with nation-wide data collection 2. Collection of historic data on dairy production in Wales (1997 – 2002) 3. Projections for future production and processing levels (2003 – 2006) 4. Identification of potential areas of growt

Improving market intelligence for organic horticulture in Wales

The organic market in the UK reached a value of £1.015 billion during the 2002/2003 financial year. The market for organic food and drink in Wales and the surrounding counties is estimated to account for 6.3 per cent of this, a total of £64 million. Assuming the proportion of sales of organic fruit and vegetables in Wales is the same as the UK as a whole then the market for organic fruit and vegetables in Wales can be valued at £20.5 million for the financial year 2002/03. The area of fully organic horticultural land in Wales in April 2003 was 513 hectares with 102 producers involved in organic fruit and vegetable production. Of these producers, over 60 per cent were mixed farms encompassing livestock and/or cereals alongside horticulture. The estimated farm-gate value of Welsh produced organic fruit and vegetables was £1.8 million, approaching 5 per cent of the total UK farm-gate value of £43.96 million. Organic horticultural production accounts for a significant proportion - 10 per cent - of the total horticultural land in Wales. In comparison, organic horticulture in the UK as a whole accounts for just 4 per cent of the total horticultural land. Interviews with Welsh growers identified a number of key challenges facing them including market access, lack of producer co-operation, increased competition (particularly from within the UK) and availability of labour. At the beginning of 2003, 103 licensed organic processing operations were operating in Wales with approximately one-third handling fruit and vegetables. The main constraints to increasing the utilisation of domestic produce were identified as continuity, quality, accessibility and reliability of supply. Key recommendations to help overcome many of the challenges identified are included in Chapter 6 - Conclusions and Recommendations. Fruit and vegetables are a key entry point for consumers beginning to buy organic food. Welsh consumers are less ‘put-off’ by the price of organic food than consumers across the UK as a whole. Supporting the local farmers is particularly important to the Welsh consumer, with 35 per cent of the Welsh organic buying public stating that it was important to support local farmers, compared to 16 per cent in the UK overall

Microscopic Investigation of Vortex Breakdown in a Dividing T-Junction Flow

3D-printed microfluidic devices offer new ways to study fluid dynamics. We present the first clear visualization of vortex breakdown in a dividing T-junction flow. By individual control of the inflow and two outflows, we decouple the effects of swirl and rate of vorticity decay. We show that even slight outflow imbalances can greatly alter the structure of vortex breakdown, by creating a net pressure difference across the junction. Our results are summarized in a dimensionless phase diagram, which will guide the use of vortex breakdown in T-junctions to achieve specific flow manipulation.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

“It’s a Journey” - A Qualitative Case Study of How Local Municipalities in Skåne Mobilise towards EU Opportunities

This thesis aims to explore and provide answer to how local municipalities in Skåne mobilise towards EU opportunities following a reorganisation of the state which has shifted responsibilities closer to an empowered subnational level, honouring the EU principles of subsidiarity and partnership. Using a case study design and a method of semi-structured interviews the thesis identifies that internal municipal factors as well as regional factors must not impede mobilisation but rather shape differentiated strategies. The main findings include that local mobilisation is highly dependent on driven individuals and an ability to identify opportunities and match them with the own needs, further many of the strategies are found directly resource-based as the municipalities use strategic measures to answer to limited administrative capacities. The thesis concludes by answering to the theoretical ambition of building theory, constructing a typology of mobilisation types distinguishing six interconnected though specific strategies; ‘the coordinator’, the ‘expert help’, the ‘network approach’, the ‘strength in numbers’, the ‘sector specific and individualistic’, and finally, ‘proactive and integrated’ mobilisation

Procedure at the Intersection of Law and Equity: Veil Piercing and the Seventh Amendment

This Note addresses the multicircuit split that veil piercing’s “vexing” nature has created. The First, Second and Fifth Circuits, on varying theories, have found that there exists a federal right to a jury trial on veil-piercing issues. Conversely, the Sixth and Seventh Circuits have disagreed, holding that veil piercing is an action sounding primarily in equity outside the scope of the Seventh Amendment. Part I will briefly discuss the Supreme Court’s Seventh Amendment jurisprudence and explain how veil piercing falls into the Court’s awkward demarcation of law and equity. Part II will explore the legal and equitable history of veil-piercing actions, a topic that “courts and commentators rarely address . . . at length.” Part III will lay out the current Federal precedent on the issue. Finally, Part IV will argue that history and policy support putting veil-piercing questions to juries, that juries are well suited to this task, and address counterarguments by showing that judges and parties retain an array of tools to manage and control juries

Ekologi Integral: Alternatif dalam Krisis Lingkungan Hidup

Today’s ecological crisis is getting worse, and human activities might have been the main cause of the crisis. From a theological point of view, the spiritual crisis among the modern people can be thought of as the source of the devastating human activities. Pope Francis in his encyclical Laudato Si’ believes that mistaken anthropocentrism and technocratic paradigm are the main cause, while theologian Leonardo Boff points on the modern science experimental perspective and the attitude of negligence as the triggering characteristics that govern the modern people. Facing the ecological crisis which has its roots in human spiritual crisis, Pope Francis offers a model of an integral ecology, while Boff offers an eco-spirituality concept, as basis for human relation to the cosmos. Both concepts emphasise on the unity of all components that exist in the cosmos as God’s creation

Ekologi Integral: Alternatif dalam Krisis Lingkungan Hidup

Today’s ecological crisis is getting worse, and human activities might have been the main cause of the crisis. From a theological point of view, the spiritual crisis among the modern people can be thought of as the source of the devastating human activities. Pope Francis in his encyclical Laudato Si’ believes that mistaken anthropocentrism and technocratic paradigm are the main cause, while theologian Leonardo Boff points on the modern science experimental perspective and the attitude of negligence as the triggering characteristics that govern the modern people. Facing the ecological crisis which has its roots in human spiritual crisis, Pope Francis offers a model of an integral ecology, while Boff offers an eco-spirituality concept, as basis for human relation to the cosmos. Both concepts emphasise on the unity of all components that exist in the cosmos as God’s creation