To leave or not to leave? Understanding determinants of farmers' choices to remain in or abandon agri-environmental schemes

Effectiveness of Agri-Environmental Schemes (AESs) as tools to enhance the rural environment can be achieved not only by increasing uptake rates, but also by avoiding participating farmers abandoning the scheme once they are in. For this reason, it is important to also consider what affects farmers\u2019 decisions to remain in the scheme rather than leave it at the end of the contractual obligation. However, up to now, there has been very little on this issue in the literature. The paper offers a contribution to this by revealing the role of determinants like the farmer\u2019s and farm structural characteristics, farmer\u2019s learning process, neighbourhood effect and the impact of changes in the policy design on the farmer\u2019s decision to remain in the scheme over a long time scale. This is examined in a long-standing scheme in the case study area, the Veneto Region of Italy. The paper uses duration analysis and is based on longitudinal panel-data of the entire population of 2000-2015 adopters. By using only data available in official regional records, it also provides regional policy-makers with an operational tool that is useful to analyse the impact of their AES design changes. The results of the duration models show that a larger farm size, a younger farmer age, the succession in the family farm, and the farmer\u2019s positive attitude towards the environment, trigger longer durations in AES. Similarly, the impact of the accumulation of the farmer\u2019s experience in the scheme management, as well as the neighbourhood effect increase the probability of remaining. Lastly, the changes in policy tailoring and targeting also have a positive impact on maintaining the farmer in the scheme. The paper concludes by noting that duration analysis can deliver useful results in order to guide policy-makers in the effort to steer higher levels of farmers\u2019 persistence in the scheme and provides some recommendations for a more mature agro-environmental policy design

The Effect of Sportspersonship Instruction on the Behaviors Of Second Grade Physical Education Students

The effect of sportspersonship instruction on the behaviors of second grade physical education students was examined. Instruction consisted of defining sportspersonship focus words, modifying the words into target behaviors, modeling the behaviors, and reinforcing the behaviors. Results revealed that students from two intact classes improved their behaviors

Les intelligences multiples :: une aide motivationnelle pour les enfants en difficulté des classes d’introduction

Après avoir cherché de quelle manière on pouvait aider les élèves en difficulté à entrer dans les apprentissages de manière différente ou autrement, je me suis penchée sur la théorie des intelligences multiples d’Howard Gardner. Cette méthode intéresse les enseignants qui savent que les enfants n’apprennent pas tous de la même manière. Elle est bien moins connue en Suisse qu’au Canada où fleurissent de nombreuses écoles et recherches pédagogiques. Il me semblait important d’expérimenter cette pratique dans le but de pouvoir l’utiliser à l’avenir dans mon enseignement. Ce travail de mémoire consiste à comprendre comment la manière d’enseigner peut influencer, au travers d’activités spécifiques, la motivation des élèves d’une classe d’introduction. Après la détermination d’un profil d’intelligences de quatre élèves et la mise en place d’un dispositif varié sur les intelligences multiples (IM), j’ai ensuite observé la manière dont les élèves restaient motivés lors séquences sur la représentation du temps en 3e année Harmos. Les résultats ont montré que certaines hypothèses posées ont pu être validées puisque certains élèves perdaient leur motivation lorsqu’ils travaillaient dans des activités qui ne mobilisaient pas leur intelligence préférentielle

The Effect of Incorporating Math Skills into Physical Education Classes on Math Achievement of Second Grade Elementary Students

The effect of embedding math skills into physical education lessons on math achievement of second grade students in two classes was investigated. There were no statistical differences between the experimental (PE/Math) group and the control group. However, practical observations indicated more research is needed in this area

Modelo de precios hedónicos aplicado al vino del "Nuevo y del Viejo Mundo": : estado del arte

The basic hedonic hypothesis is that goods are valued for their utility-bearing characteristics and not for the good itself. Each attribute can be evaluated by consumers when making a purchasing decision and an implicit price can be identified for each of them. Thus, the observed price of a certain good can be analyzed as the sum of the implicit prices paid for each quality attribute. Literature has reported hedonic models estimates in the case of wines, which are excellent examples of differentiated goods worldwide.The impact of different wine attributes (intrinsic or extrinsic) on consumers’ willingness to pay has been analyzed with dissimilar results. Wines coming from "New World" producers seem to be appreciated for different attributes than wines produced in the "Old World". Moreover, "Old and New World" consumers seem to value differently the wine’s characteristics. To our knowledge, no cross country analysis has been done dealing with "New World" wines in "Old World" countries, leaving an important gap in understanding underlying attributes influencing buying decisions.La hipótesis hedónica básica es que los bienes son valuados por sus características y no por el bien en sí mismo. Cada una de esas características es evaluada por el consumidor en el momento de decidir la compra por lo que es posible estimar un precio implícito para cada una de ellas. El precio observado de un producto puede ser, entonces, analizado como la suma de los precios implícitos de los atributos que definen el producto. Existe vasta literatura sobre precios hedónicos en el mundo del vino, al tratarse de un caso referente de producto diferenciado. El análisis del impacto de los diferentes atributos del vino sobre la disponibilidad a pagar del consumidor ha reportado resultados disímiles. Los vinos provenientes del "Nuevo Mundo" parecen ser apreciados por atributos diferentes que los vinos del "Viejo Mundo". Adicionalmente, los consumidores del "Nuevo y Viejo Mundo" aprecian distintas características en el vino. A nuestro saber, no se han llevado a cabo análisis de tipo inter-países de vinos del "Nuevo Mundo" vendidos en el "Viejo Mundo". Esta carencia deja una gran brecha en el entendimiento de cuáles son los atributos que influyen en las decisiones de compra del consumidor.Fil: Estrella Orrego, María Jimena. Università degli Studi di Padova (Italia). Dipartimento Territorio e Sistemi Agro-ForestaliFil: Defrancesco, Edi. Università degli Studi di Padova (Italia). Dipartimento Territorio e Sistemi Agro-ForestaliFil: Gennari, Alejandro. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agraria

The Extracellular Matrix of Staphylococcus aureus Biofilms Comprises Cytoplasmic Proteins That Associate with the Cell Surface in Response to Decreasing pH

ABSTRACT Biofilm formation by Staphylococcus aureus involves the formation of an extracellular matrix, but the composition of this matrix has been uncertain. Here we report that the matrix is largely composed of cytoplasmic proteins that reversibly associate with the cell surface in a manner that depends on pH. We propose a model for biofilm formation in which cytoplasmic proteins are released from cells in stationary phase. These proteins associate with the cell surface in response to decreasing pH during biofilm formation. Rather than utilizing a dedicated matrix protein, S. aureus appears to recycle cytoplasmic proteins that moonlight as components of the extracellular matrix

Clinical Severity Score System in Dogs with Degenerative Mitral Valve Disease

BACKGROUND: Several risk factors already have been determined for dogs with degenerative mitral valve disease (DMVD). Risk factors often have been considered in isolation and have not always taken into account additional information provided by the history and physical examination (PE). HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: Data obtained from history and PE of dogs with DMVD provide prognostic information and can be used for risk stratification. ANIMALS: Client‐owned dogs (n = 244) with DMVD recruited from first opinion practice. METHODS: Prospective longitudinal follow‐up of dogs with DMVD. History and PE data were obtained at 6‐month intervals and analyzed with time‐dependent Cox models to derive relative risk of cardiac death. Independent hazard ratios were used to derive a clinical severity score (CSS), the prognostic value of which was evaluated by analyzing the median survival times for different risk groups and ROC analysis. Analysis of the progression of CSS over time also was undertaken. RESULTS: History of cough, exercise intolerance, decreased appetite, breathlessness (difficulty breathing) and syncope with PE findings of heart murmur intensity louder than III/VI and absence of respiratory sinus arrhythmia were independently associated with outcome and allowed development of the CSS. Clinical severity score distinguished groups of dogs with significantly different outcomes. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Routinely obtained clinical findings allow risk stratification of dogs with DMVD. Results of ancillary diagnostic tests may be complementary to history and PE findings and always should be interpreted in conjunction with these findings

Illuminating Choices for Library Prep: A Comparison of Library Preparation Methods for Whole Genome Sequencing of Cryptococcus neoformans Using Illumina HiSeq.

The industry of next-generation sequencing is constantly evolving, with novel library preparation methods and new sequencing machines being released by the major sequencing technology companies annually. The Illumina TruSeq v2 library preparation method was the most widely used kit and the market leader; however, it has now been discontinued, and in 2013 was replaced by the TruSeq Nano and TruSeq PCR-free methods, leaving a gap in knowledge regarding which is the most appropriate library preparation method to use. Here, we used isolates from the pathogenic fungi Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii and sequenced them using the existing TruSeq DNA v2 kit (Illumina), along with two new kits: the TruSeq Nano DNA kit (Illumina) and the NEBNext Ultra DNA kit (New England Biolabs) to provide a comparison. Compared to the original TruSeq DNA v2 kit, both newer kits gave equivalent or better sequencing data, with increased coverage. When comparing the two newer kits, we found little difference in cost and workflow, with the NEBNext Ultra both slightly cheaper and faster than the TruSeq Nano. However, the quality of data generated using the TruSeq Nano DNA kit was superior due to higher coverage at regions of low GC content, and more SNPs identified. Researchers should therefore evaluate their resources and the type of application (and hence data quality) being considered when ultimately deciding on which library prep method to use