Post-structuralism, Complexity and Poetics.

Post-structuralism and complexity are plural and diverse modes of thought that share a common subscription to the �anteriority of radical relationality�. They nonetheless subscribe to a different ethic of life because they address the anteriority of radical relationality in different ways. Complexity remains strategic in its bid to become a power-knowledge of the laws of becoming. It derives that strategic ethic from its scientific interest in the implicate order of non-linearity that is said to subvert Newtonian science. Post-structuralism is poetic. It derives its poetic ethic from Heidegger and from the re-working of orphic and tragic sensibilities to radical relationality with the radically non-relational. Observing that all poetry is complexity avant la lettre, the paper illustrates these points with the Odyssey and concludes that while complexity is ultimately concerned with fitness, post-structuralism is pre-occupied with justice

Development of an efficient milk production profile of the Irish dairy Industry

End of project reportFluctuation around milk price will be the biggest factor that the dairy industry will experience over the next number of years. This fluctuation is being driven by fluctuation on the world dairy markets. In the past, when intervention was a much bigger feature of the CAP regime, the fluctuation in world markets had little effect on the EU price. This was because the Intervention system bought product from the market when prices were depressed and placed products on the world market when the price rose. This in effect meant that the CAP regime was having a regulatory effect on the world market as well as the EU markets. An example of the type of fluctuation observed on the world market can be gleamed from the Fonterra milk price in 2006-2007 ($4.50/kg (MS) milk solid) versus 2007-2008 ($7.90/kg MS). This corresponds to a 76% increase in price in 1 year. For the Dairy Industry in Ireland to prosper under these conditions all sectors will be required to be as efficient as possible from the farm, processing and marketing sectors. This report deals with; (1) Milk payment (2) Optimum milk production systems and (3) Seasonality of milk supply. (1) Milk payment systems in Ireland currently do not adequately reward high solids quality milk. Virtually all milk payment systems include a positive constant which reward the production of volume rather than the production of protein and fat kilograms. The A+B-C system of milk payment would adequately reward the production of protein and fat while at the same time correcting for the volume related processing costs. (2) Optimum systems of milk production will be built around the maximization of grass utilization in the future. Grazed grass is the cheapest feed that can be fed to dairy cows. Stocking rates nationally are 1.74cows/Ha around the milking platform and therefore when dairy farms are expanding they should do so by increasing stocking rate. The inclusion of supplementary feeds will reduce profitability for the vast majority of dairy farmers and could only possibly lead to increases in profitability when coupled increases in stocking rate. (3) Grass based systems while substantially reducing costs at farm level result in a seasonal milk supply profile. This results in a reduced capacity utilization of the milk processing facilities as well as restricted product port folio. However the production of Winter milk will lead to significant cost increases at farm level and should only be encouraged if the specific product produced would be sufficient to cover the additional costs associated with over winter production. Within spring calving systems milk payment systems should be used to encourage an efficient milk supply profile with a mean compact calving date of mid February.Teagasc acknowledges with gratitude the support of Dairy Levy Funds and EU Structural Funds (FEOGA) in financing the research programme

The Effects of Class Size on Student Achievement in Higher Education: Applying an Earnings Function

This paper uses an earnings function to model how class size affects the grade students earn. We test the model using an ordinal logit with and without fixed effects on 363,023 undergraduate observations. We find that class size negatively affects grades. Average grade point declines as class size increases, precipitously up to class sizes of ten, and more gradually but monotonically through class sizes of 400 plus. The probability of getting a B plus or better declines from 0.9 for class sizes 20 to about 0.5 for class sizes of 120 and almost 0.4 for class sizes of 400

FARM DECISION-MAKING IN A MULTIFUNCTIONAL CONTEXT: THE CASE OF CONVENTIONAL AND ORGANIC FARMING IN KERKINI DISTRICT, GREECE

Multifuncionality has become a central concern at both conceptual and empirical levels. In this study, a comparative evaluation of the economic performance of conventional and multifunctional farms (mainly organic farms) was conducted for Lake Kerkini region (North Greece) with the use of mixed integer non-linear programming method. Economic performance was evaluated in terms of farm income, resource allocation, production level etc. The results indicate that multifunctional farms have overall better economic performance and young farm managers are keener to adopt multifunctional farming than the older ones.Greek farming, Multifunctionality of farming, Farm, Farm decision making and age of farmers, Agribusiness, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Farm Management,

Choice of Optimal Planting and Marketing Decisions for Fresh Vegetable Producers: A Mathematical Programming Approach

This study combines whole farm economic analysis with biophysical simulation techniques in order to achieve a twofold objective. First, the study seeks to develop a multiple enterprise vegetable farm model with a production and marketing decision interface and, second, to determine optimal production practices for Kentucky vegetable growers. Three vegetable crops are examined: tomatoes, bell peppers and sweet corn. The findings indicate that the risk associated with vegetable production can be significantly mitigated with diversification of production mix and with a greater number of transplanting dates. However, this reduction in risk comes at a high cost in terms of expected net returns.vegetable production, mean-variance, biophysical simulation, farm management, Farm Management, C61, C63, D81,

Measurement of Grassland Management Practice on Commercial Dairy Farms

End of Project ReportVisual assessment (>4 cm) was found to be the preferred method of pasture mass estimation. Grass budgeting with the use of grass cover measurement, was found to be the most effective aid to good grazing management. Closing farm grass cover in late November/early December should be 350 to 450 kg DM/ha with a range in covers of 200 to 900. Target farm grass covers of 550 to 600 kg DM/ha at turnout at stocking rate of 2.75 cow/ha. Pre-grazing yields at turnout should not be less than 1000 kg DM/ha, giving daily grass allowance of not less than 5 kg DM/cow. The available grass supply in Spring should be budgeted so as to finish the first grazing rotation between the 10th-20th April (grass supply equal grass demand). During the main grazing season (May to August), grazing grass cover should be maintained at 900 to 1000 kg DM/ha or 200 to 240 kg DM/cow. Pre-grazing yield should be maintained at 1800 to 2000 kg DM/ha, with post-grazing residuals at 150 to 200 kg DM/ha (5.5 to 6.5 cm post-grazing height). Stocking rates of greater than 4.5 cow/ha on the grazing area in May/June mostly resulted in inadequate grass supply at some periods over that time. Rotation length can be increased from 21 days in mid/late August to 35 days in late September, allowing grass cover to increase to 1100 to 1300 kg DM/ha. Last rotation should be 25 to 35 days, with first paddocks rested from the 10th to 15th October. Greater use of grass measurements at farm level will allow dairy farmers to obtain a greater proportion of the dairy herd’s feed demand from grazed grass, and higher cow performance.Teagasc acknowledge with gratitude the support of Irish Fertiliser Industries, FBD Trust and Dairy Levy Farmer Funds in the financing of this research project

A profit-related investment scheme for the indigenous estate

This paper assesses the state of commercial development and resource management on Indigenous land, particularly in remote Australia. Indigenous landowners control significant assets—over one million square kilometres of land—often with substantial resource rights and income earning potential. The levels of inactivity and missed opportunities on Indigenous land are of such magnitude as to represent a major risk for Indigenous landowning communities in terms of their future economic and social well-being, and also for the national interest in terms of ecological vulnerability and the social and political costs of Indigenous disadvantage. In this paper we explore the role of government as risk manager in such circumstances and outline the principles that must underpin any intervention program targeted to the commercial development of Indigenous land. Using the framework for profit-related loans recently developed by Chapman and Simes (2004) and elements of an existing venture capital support program, the Innovation Investment Fund Program, we outline a new investment scheme to assist development and natural resource management on the growing Indigenous estate. The proposed scheme can be conceptualised as a profit-related loan scheme or as a form of capped public investment. Our proposal addresses key elements of the market failure in the financing of development on Indigenous land and provides incentives for greater private sector investment. It ensures that commercial and social risks are shared equitably between government, private sector investors and Indigenous-owned corporations in order to avoid problems of adverse selection or moral hazard

Synopsis of Plazia Ruiz & Pav. (Onoserideae, Asteraceae), including a new species from northern Peru

Abstract. A synopsis of Plazia Ruiz & Pav. (Onoserideae, Asteraceae) is presented, including the description of a new species, Plazia robinsonii M.O.Dillon & Sagást., from a locality c. 20 kms west of Huamachuco, Department of La Libertad in northern Peru. It most closely resembles Plazia conferta Ruiz & Pav., a narrow endemic from central Peru some 450 km to the south; however, the latter species has larger leaves and smaller capitula. Plazia is a small genus of four species confined to the Andean Cordillera of Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. A distribution map of the four species, an illustration of the new species, a photograph of the holotype, and a key to species are provided