Weighing up the ODDs: options, development and diversification

The growing trend of development and diversification in the British countryside stems from three main causes: the decline in farm incomes, the growing influx of non-agricultural commerce into rural areas and a change in planning policies. Even before the foot and mouth disaster, farm incomes have been in decline over the last five years, falling by as much as 90% overall in that period according to the figures issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF). Farmers have responded to this situation in many ways, but notably through diversification. This paper examines some of the options available

Saving the planet but losing the landscape: the impact of renewable energy policies on rural Britain

The main instrument of the Government's renewable energy policy is to promote wind power through regulation and subsidy. This gives rise to anomalies in rural planning when turbines are erected in sensitve areas in which other forms of development are strictly controlled. The situation is reviewed in the context of economic viability and considered also against the alternative of growing fuel crops. The latter are currently hampered by lack of Government support but could fulfil a useful secondary role of sustaining the agricultural sector and with it the management of lowland landscapes

My Awesome Austrian Adventure

This letter from returnee Timmy Prag explains the value of studying abroad in Austria

Private investment in the countryside: an assessment of the role of new houses and estates in sustaining the rural economy and environment

The British countryside has been shaped and sustained over the years by the establishment of landed estates. Some of our best known, and now most protected, landmarks derive from this tradition by which money, that was often sourced from outside the rural economy, was invested in land. Whilst there was some reversal in this trend during the last century, there is again a widespread desire among people of means to invest in new country property. Paragraph 3.21 of Planning Policy Guidance Note 7: The Countryside - Environmental Quality and Economic and Social Development was introduced in 1997 as a means of perpetuating the historic tradition of innovation in the countryside through the construction of fine individual houses in landscaped grounds. That it was considered necessary to use a special provision of this kind reflects the prevailing presumption of planning authorities against allowing private residential development in open countryside. The Government is currently reviewing rural planning policy and is focusing on higher density housing, affordable homes and the use of brownfield sites. There is an underlying conception that individual private house developments contribute nothing and are seen as the least attractive option for most development sites. The purpose of paragraph 3.21 lies outside the government’s priorities and its particular provisions may therefore be excluded in forthcoming ‘policy statements’. This paper seeks to examine the role of private investors wishing to build new houses in the countryside, and the impact that that might have on local economies. It explores the interpretation placed on PPG7 through an investigation of appeal sites, and concludes by making recommendations for the review process, including the retention of some form of exceptions policy for new build houses

Trade and SDG 13: Action on climate change

This paper assesses the interaction of international trade with climate policies, and the influence of trade on the implementation of SDG 13 (climate change). Although international trade contributes directly to GHG emissions, increased trade can help to achieve development goals in a GHG-efficient manner, provided that GHG emissions are correctly priced everywhere. Given that emissions are not universally priced, the paper examines where policies related to trade may be misaligned with or otherwise hindering climate change objectives. While concluding that the multilateral agreements of the World Trade Organization do not generally prevent governments from pursuing strong domestic climate policy, the chapter does identify potential misalignments. These include import tariffs on environmental goods, barriers to trade in services and domestic policies designed to support local low-carbon industry but which are restrictive of international trade and therefore potentially counter-productive. The paper concludes by stressing the importance of building up resilience in the global trade system in the face of increasingly frequent and severe weather-related shocks

Receiving, or ‘Adopting’, Donated Embryos to Have Children: Parents Narrate and Draw Kinship Boundaries

Existing research suggests that embryo donation (ED) may be seen as similar to adoption by those who donate or receive embryos, or it may not. Our qualitative study explored whether having a child via embryo donation initiated kinship connections between embryo donor and recipient families as interpreted by recipient parents. Interviews were conducted with five parents from four families whose child(ren) had been born via embryo donation. All four families had an open-contact relationship set up with the couples who donated their embryos through an agency in the USA. Narrative thematic analysis of interview data and visual family map drawings were used to explore kinship conceptualizations. We conclude that the dilemma experienced by parents who have a child via embryo donation is to decide how to reconcile their child’s different genetic heritage, when gestation and upbringing both clearly boundary family membership solely within the recipient family. While some families were still struggling with this dilemma, one solution embarked upon by some parents when drawing their family map was to expand family membership, not only on the basis of genetics, but also via an appreciation of shared family and community values too

Peer review i et obligatorisk bachelorkursus for civilingeniørstuderende i medikoteknik

Et nyudviklet peer review-system, der integrerer studenterdata, administration og grafiske procesoversigter, blev afprøvet i et obligatorisk bachelorkursus. Overens-stemmelse mellem de studerende og hjælpelærernes kvantitative bedømmelser blev undersøgt for en relativt udfordrende opgave med 15 delspørgsmål. 49 stude-rende afleverede besvarelser. Efterfølgende blev hver besvarelse bedømt af tre medstuderende, svarende til at 735 delbesvarelser blev bedømt. Ud af disse var der enighed mellem studenterbedømmerne og hjælpelærerne i 480 tilfælde (65 %). I under 3,5 % af tilfældene var der total uenighed. Der var tendens til, at jo mere rig-tigt en besvarelse blev bedømt, eller jo mere konkret svaret var, des mere enighed. En interviewundersøgelse hos de studerende viste stor opbakning til fremgangsmå-den og viste også, at de studerende fandt det meget nyttigt at se andre studerendes besvarelser såvel som rettevejledningen. Afslutningsvis gives en række anbefalinger til processen og systemet