Between Thought and Expression, a Magnetoencephalography Study of the "Tip-of-the-Tongue" Phenomenon

“Tip-of-the-tongue” (TOT) is the phenomenon associated with the inaccessibility of a known word from memory. It is universally experienced, increases in frequency with age, and is most common for proper nouns. It is a good model for the symptom of anomia experienced much more frequently by some aphasic patients following brain injury. Here, we induced the TOT state in older participants while they underwent brain scanning with magnetoencephalography to investigate the changes in oscillatory brain activity associated with failed retrieval of known words. Using confrontation naming of pictures of celebrities, we successfully induced the TOT state in 29% of trials and contrasted it with two other states: “Know” where the participants both correctly recognized the celebrity's face and retrieved their name and “Don't Know” when the participants did not recognize the celebrity. We wished to test Levelt's influential model of speech output by carrying out two analyses, one epoching the data to the point in time when the picture was displayed and the other looking back in time from when the participants first articulated their responses. Our main findings supported the components of Levelt's model, but not their serial activation over time as both semantic and motor areas were identified in both analyses. We also found enduring decreases in the alpha frequency band in the left ventral temporal region during the TOT state, suggesting ongoing semantic search. Finally, we identified reduced beta power in classical peri-sylvian language areas for the TOT condition, suggesting that brain regions that encode linguistic memories are also involved in their attempted retrieval

Scottish Farm Efficiency: trends and drivers from 1989 to 2020

Technical efficiency indicates the rate at which physical inputs are converted into physical outputs. We present estimates of the technical efficiency of Scottish farms by standard farm types over the period 1989 to 2020 using the annual Scottish farm business survey (SFBS) data. We find that all farm types show an average increase in annual technical efficiency growth. However, these are quite low, with Less Favoured Area farms (LFA) and specialist cereal farms, having average growth of around 0.2% per annum. In contrast Dairy and General Cropping farms have grown by an average of 1.0% per annum. Notably, growth rates are much lower, and in some cases negative, in the 4-year period directly after the EU referendum in 2016, compared to the 4-year period directly before the referendum, which may in part reflect uncertainty and reluctance to invest before major agricultural policy reform.• We find a great deal of variance within farm types, which indicates that for each sector there will be challenges and wide level of performance. • Key drivers of technical efficiency include farm size and increasing specialisation. • More farmer led characteristics, such as succession planning and age of the main decision maker, were less consistent estimators. • Both higher levels of subsidy and off-farm income had a depressing effect on technical efficiency, compared to those farms with lower rates of subsidy to turnover, or higher levels of income on farm, compared to off-farm. Under the potential for new reform of Scottish agricultural policy, which would support sustainable food production and meet the requirements of a net zero carbon target by 2045, the focus of policy interventions should be on promoting improved resource use within our present farming systems. <br/

Incentives to the uptake of GHG emission reducing technologies in the global dairy sector: the Kenya case study.

The dairy sector in Kenya is one of the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Kenyan Government has stated ambitions for its transition to higher output and towards lower emissions in line with international commitments. Addressing the yield gap and meeting environmental targets is only achievable through the adoption of climate-smart practices.• Interventions are being made to join up extension and research services and encourage adoption of key practices that raise productivity and reduce the greenhouse gas burden from current production.• Structural and institutional issues pervade the sector due, in part, to a long history of liberalisation leading to the majority of dairy milk being sold through informal supply chains from small-holder dairy enterprises. Moreover, Kenya has a range of systems operating at various levels of intensity. The wide range in yields recorded reflects economic, climatic, biophysical and social constraint current practice and adoption.• We outline the main feasible climate smart practices and approaches that could be adopted across this sector, the major barriers to their adoption, and potential interventions to encourage future adoption to meet Kenya’s vision for its dairy sector. These are outlined in the following tables.• Overall, there is significant potential for improving yields and reducing emissions intensity across a range of practices that are considered cost-effective. Larger scale interventions are also considered which may bring about transitional change, these tend to focus on co-ordination of initiatives to ensure clear messaging and equity of access in growth. This encompasses initiatives both from the private and public sectors

The role of family life cycle events on persistent and transient inefficiencies in Less Favoured Areas

Family farms dominate less favoured areas (LFAs) within Europe, and family life-cycle conditions, such as succession and retirement, affects how these farms adapt to changing circumstances. Past studies of on-farm technical efficiency have not directly addressed these conditions, but they may explain why some farms are more efficient than others, especially as the farm family model dominates most farming systems. Motivated by the UK's withdrawal from the EU and the debate around establishing replacement support policies, we apply a multi-step model to measure both transient and persistent inefficiencies using a panel of LFA cattle and sheep farms in Scotland over the period 2003–2020. We find a greater prevalence of persistent compared to transient inefficiency, which suggests that structural problems still exist. Farms with planned succession are found to have higher persistent efficiencies, whereas farmers nearing retirement have lower levels. Other factors, such as dependence on subsidy, off-farm activity and classification as severely disadvantaged tend to compound these lower efficiencies. We argue that life-cycle conditions should not be ignored in studies of farm technical efficiency. Within the scope of framing a new agricultural policy for UK administrations, these results inform the debate on support for LFAs, as well as the promotion of support towards generational renewal to ease transition across farm family life-cycle events.</p

Barriers and incentives to the uptake of GHG emission reducing technologies in the global dairy sector: the UK case study.

The UK Government have ambitious plans for its transition to decarbonise the agricultural sector whilst balancing the requirement for output growth. Numerous solutions and pathways exist for reducing greenhouse gas footprints on dairy farms. We explore those mitigation measures which have been identified to have the highest current potential for mitigating emissions.• The dairy sector is one of the most technically advanced of all farming sectors in the UK. However, there are great variances between best performers in both resource use and greenhouse gas footprints.• We identify a range of technologies and practices that could improve efficiency, prove cost effective and support goals for improving emissions intensities. These cover uptake of sexed semen and genetic improvement, improving animal health, improving feed practices and supplements, land, and nutrient management as well as renewable energy.• A range of barriers are identified that tend to limit uptake of these approaches which covers both economic issues, around cost and risk-aversion, but also behavioural nuances around the perception of their efficacy.• A significant driver of uptake is the institutional environment which is undergoing a change since the UK left the European Union in 2020. The subsidy system and the underpinning regulatory base is proposed to change in different countries of the UK. New schemes aim to embed climate goals within support payments, and these include encouraging more climate smart approaches, as well as capital support for larger investments and concerted efforts to integrate woodlands onto farm.• We outline the different mitigation measures, their main barriers, and incentives