An Examination of the Productivity of Irish Agriculture in a Decoupled Policy Environment

End of project reportThe Single Farm Payment (SFP) scheme came into effect in the EU from the first of January 2005. This scheme replaced the many ‘coupled’ livestock and arable aid schemes available to farmers and was heralded as a significant move towards decoupling. This thesis explores the initial effects of this policy on total factor productivity (TFP) and its components (technical efficiency change, technical change, and scale efficiency change) in the main farming sectors in Ireland

A Comparison of Stochastic Frontier Approaches to Estimating Inefficiency and Total Factor Productivity: An Application to Irish Dairy Farming

This paper compares standard stochastic frontier models for panel data with a number of recently developed models designed to remove unobserved heterogeneity from the inefficiency component. Results are used to construct a generalised Malmquist total factor productivity (TFP) index. We conclude that the choice of approach makes little difference where the purpose of the study is to analyse aggregate trends in TFP and its components. However, where inefficiency estimates and their dispersion are of interest, attention should be paid to how the analyst’s interpretation of inefficiency relates to the underlying assumptions of the model that is used.Efficiency, panel data, total factor productivity, stochastic production frontier, ‘true’ effects models, dairy sector

COLOUR TERMS: A PROBLEM FOR TRANSLATORS

Colour terms are universal in the sense that every language has a certain number of lexemes that are used to refer to colours in that culture. However, as Berlin and Kay (1969) discovered, languages vary in the number of basic colour terms they have, with that number ranging from as many as eleven to as few as two. The symbolic association of certain colours also varies from one language or culture to another. Therefore, translating material from one language to another poses a potential problem if the translator fails to take into account these differences

An investigation into the impact of policy reform on the level of structural change in the agri-food sector of Ireland, Denmark and the Netherlands

This paper conducts a detailed, micro-focused investigation on the implications of recent agricultural policy changes on the structure of production systems in Ireland, Denmark and the Netherlands in terms of farm numbers, system switching, specialisation, the role of economies of scale, on-farm investment, off-farm employment and economic viability. Given the close relationship between farm structure and agricultural production, the impact of the recent CAP reform on production decisions should give a good indication of the form agricultural structural change will take. Two competing hypotheses of post decoupling structural change are proposed; a ‘production inducing effect’ and an ‘expectations effect’. Using Irish, Danish and Dutch micro-data, which are comparable due to their participation in FADN, a descriptive analysis of the key characteristics of production in the agri-food sectors in each country will be performed using key indicators of structural change. The results indicate that the ‘expectations effect’, which claims that producers may adopt a ‘safety first’ strategy and make only minimal changes to production plans in case future payments are reassessed and re-linked to production or an agricultural activity, seems to be prevalent.Policy Reform, Agricultural Structural Change, FADN, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management,

An Examination of the contribution of off-farm income to the viability and sustainability of farm households and the productivity of farm businesses

End of project reportThe number of farm households in Ireland participating in the off-farm labour market has increased significantly in the last decade. According to the National Farm Survey (NFS), the number of farm households where the spouse and/or operator is working off-farm has increased from 37 per cent in 1995 to 58 per cent in 2007. The important contribution of non-farm income to viability of farm households is highlighted in the results of the Agri-Vision 2015 report, which concluded that the number of economically viable farm businesses is in decline and that a significant proportion of farm households are sustainable only because of the presence of off-farm income. Research conducted by Hennessy (2004) demonstrated that approximately 40 percent of farm households have an off-farm income and that almost 30 percent of the farming population are only sustainable because of off-farm income. Clearly, the future viability and sustainability of a large number of farm households depends on the ability of farmers and their spouses’ to secure and retain gainful off-farm employment. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (DAFF) have recognised the importance of off-farm income to the sector and they have recommended that future policies focus on farm household viability in all its dimensions, including farm and off-farm income sources (2000).Funded by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Research Stimulus Fundin

Productivity and the Determinants of Efficiency in Irish Agriculture (1996-2006)

The competitiveness and productivity of Irish agriculture has been at the forefront of debate in recent times given successive and impending changes to agricultural policy. This paper examines the trend in total factor productivity in Irish agriculture over the recent past and explores the effects of specific variables on relative efficiency levels. The findings of this research have shown that productivity growth was highest in the Cattle Rearing sector followed by the Dairy, Cattle Finishing, Sheep and Cereals sectors during the period 1996 to 2006. The research has also shown that efficiency levels are, in general, positively correlated with extension use soil quality, the overall size of the farm, the level of intensification and the level of specialisation. The use of artificial insemination was also positively correlated with efficiency in the Dairy sectorProduction Economics,

Nursing and euthanasia : a narrative review of the nursing ethics literature

Background: Medical Assistance in Dying, also known as euthanasia or assisted suicide, is expanding internationally. Canada is the first country to permit Nurse Practitioners to provide euthanasia. These developments highlight the need for nurses to reflect upon the moral and ethical issues that euthanasia presents for nursing practice. Purpose: The purpose of this article is to provide a narrative review of the ethical arguments surrounding euthanasia in relationship to nursing practice. Methods: Systematic search and narrative review. Nine electronic databases were searched using vocabulary developed from a stage 1 search of Medline and CINAHL. Articles that analysed a focused ethical question related to euthanasia in the context of nursing practice were included. Articles were synthesized to provide an overview of the literature of nursing ethics and euthanasia. Ethical Considerations: This review was conducted as per established scientific guidelines. We have tried to be fair and respectful to the authors discussed. Findings: Forty-three articles were identified and arranged inductively into four themes: arguments from the nature of nursing; arguments from ethical principles, concepts and theories; arguments for moral consistency; and arguments from the nature of the social good. Key considerations included nursing's moral ontology, the nurse-patient relationship, potential impact on the profession, ethical principles and theories, moral culpability for acts versus omissions, the role of intention and the nature of the society in which euthanasia would be enacted. In many cases, the same assumptions, values, principles and theories were used to argue both for and against euthanasia. Discussion: The review identified a relative paucity of literature in light of the expansion of euthanasia internationally. However, the literature provided a fulsome range of positions for nurses to consider as they reflect on their own participation in euthanasia. Many of the arguments reviewed were not nursing-specific, but rather are relevant across healthcare disciplines. Arguments explicitly grounded within the nature of nursing and nurse-patient relationships warrant further exploration

‘It’s like equality now; it’s not as if it’s the old days’: an investigation into gender identity development and football participation of adolescent girls

This article explores the influence participating in football has on the development of adolescent girls’ gender identity, an area which currently lacks academic attention. Data were taken from an ethnographic study with a group of adolescent girls and boys and compared to Jeanes’ research. A social constructionist framework was deployed with links to both critical theory and feminist literature. Qualitative and participatory methods were used to fully engage with the complex issue of gender identity. The girls within this study were aware of the normative gender expectations linked to ‘being a female’ but did not find this restrictive. The girls moved between many changing identities and organised their ‘web of selves’ accordingly. The apparent need to measure success by the parameters of male standards created a barrier to girls’ identity development

Prospectus, March 3, 1982

JOHNSON DISCUSSES REAGAN ECONOMY; News In Brief; College loan cuts hurting middle-income families; Meltdown reveals bonanza of useful items, treasures; What is intellectual freedom?: Your ideas can win; PC happenings…: Program focuses on language, Trouble falling asleep?, Winter playtime scheduled, Cowger discusses Indian lifestyle; Officers elected; Center offers counsel, U of I sponsors Engineering Open House, Apply for achievement award; Interested in singing? Here\u27s chance; Drama department presents; Circle K celebrates week of activities; From official tornado photographer to P.C. instructor: Donna Drysdale leads unusual life; Sugar Babies : tribute to evening of burlesque; Classifieds; U-2 good, not as good as crowd expected; \u27Personal Best\u27: Controversy arouses interest; Fifth-ranked baseball team back to face tough season Cobras Coverage sports insert pages 9-12https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1982/1026/thumbnail.jp

Prospectus, February 10, 1982

LOCAL LEADERS URGE ERA CHANGES; Severe winter causes hassle for Urbana Mayor Markland; Cartoonist tells how men, women, differ; Disney succeeds with \u27Night Crossing\u27; Chanute schedules events; Here\u27s place to eat for hungry; Cavaliers end Cobra streak; Blacker leads women to victory; How do I love thee?: Buy your honey one of these gifts; Ice biggest problem for airport managers; PC happenings...: Ski club selling pizza, Party to honor Susan B. Anthony, Insurance deadline is Feb. 12; Classifieds; Area entertainment...https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1982/1029/thumbnail.jp