Anthelmintic resistance in Northern Ireland (II): Variations in nematode control practices between lowland and upland sheep flocks

A questionnaire to obtain information on nematode control practices and sheep management was sent to over 1000 farmers in Northern Ireland. Replies were received from 305 flock owners, and data from 252 of them were analysed. Farms were divided into lowland and upland areas. Sizes of pasture and stocking rates on lowland and upland farms were 59.5 hectares, 6.99 sheep/hectare and 62.9 hectares and 10.01 sheep/hectare, respectively. Mean drenching rates for lambs and adults were 2.33 and 2.44, respectively, in lowland flocks and 2.73 and 2.71, respectively, in upland flocks. Between 2008 and 2011, the most frequently identified compounds in use were benzimidazoles and moxidectin in lowland flocks, and benzimidazoles and avermectins in upland flocks. Over the same period the most frequently identified commercial formulations were Tramazole (R), Panacur (R) and Allverm (R) (white drench), Levacide (R) (yellow drench), Oramec (R) (clear drench; avermectin), Cydectin (R) (clear drench; moxidectin) and Monepantel (R) (orange drench).

Most respondents (56.35%) treated their lambs at weaning and the most common time to treat ewes was identified to be pre-mating (67.86% of respondents).

The results of the questionnaire survey revealed that lowland annual drench frequency was 233 and 2.44 in lambs and ewes, respectively, although drench frequencies were higher in upland flocks: 2.73 and 2.71 for lambs and ewes, respectively.

Annual drench rotation was practiced by 43.96% of flock owners, but whether this was true rotation or pseudo-rotation (i.e., substitution of one anthelmintic product by another product belonging to the same chemical group of anthelmintics) could not be explicitly determined. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Insurgent Building: Spatial Practices of Resistance in the Bedouin-State Conflict in Southern Israel

In the con?ict between Bedouin representatives and government authorities in the southern Israeli Negev, the term ‘insurgent building’ refers to the construction of buildings erected in the full expectation that they will be demolished by the Israeli police shortly thereafter. This article analyses how insurgent building is employed as a spatial practice by emerging political actors to claim contested Bedouin landownership. Importantly, insurgent building relies on the ability of media and advocacy organizations to mobilize behind the issue. Most of the relevant scholarship takes the interpretative categories advanced by these actors at face value. Following anthropological debates regarding objecti?cation and categorization, I examine the context of a speci?c case of insurgent building. Emerging political actors who employ insurgent building often rely on prede?ned ethnic categories and clear-cut people–state polarities. This case demonstrates the need for a more differentiated understanding of multilayered local dynamics than the one offered by mainstream linear interpretations. At a more abstract level, political actors contribute to the reproduction of the very categories against which they mobilize.

Autobiography and Invention: Towards a Critical Understanding of Identity, Dialogue and Resistance in Improvised Musics

In this article I will argue that acts of improvisation are not productively understood in opposition to other practices which form our wider musical culture. Improvisation might be better understood as both rooted in, but not limited by, personal and cultural memory. Improvisational activities are legible to the performer and audience through a shared understanding of social norms, but only become a singular instance of improvisation through unique performative actions. This tension between experience and invention is played out in a dialogue between performer and listener, demanding a response that crucially takes the form of self-articulation, or autobiography. Finally, I contend that it is from this position that improvisation offers the possibility to transgress established personal and cultural identities.

A Risky Business: An Examination of Irish Probation Officers Attitudes and Work Practices Regarding Risk Assessment

This article examines recent research on risk assessment and probation practice in Ireland and relates the findings to the ongoing debate regarding risk management practices in probation. The piece discusses current theoretical arguments on the influence of risk in criminal justice and outlines the impact of risk discourse on probation practice in Ireland and England and Wales. Using a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods, Irish probation officers’ attitudes are examined in order to highlight key issues facing probation officers when making risk decisions. These findings are compared and contrasted to other research results from England and Wales. All the conclusions identify both positive and negative consequences of adopting risk tools and point to the continued salience of clinical judgment over actuarial methods of risk assessment. It is argued that the research highlights the role of ‘resistance’ by criminal justice professionals in mediating the effects of the ‘new penology’ at the level of implementation. The idea of resistance holds particular relevance for probation practice in Ireland where professional discretion is maintained within the National Standards framework. Despite this, to date there has been an uncritical approach taken to risk assessment which may ignore the dangers of risk inflation/deflation and the need to take into account local factors in assessing risk of reoffending

Resistance is Feral: Digital Culture, Community Arts, and the New Cultural Gatekeepers

The Community Arts sector in Australia has a history of resistance. It has challenged hegemonic culture through facilitating grassroots creative production, contesting notions of artistic processes, and the role of the artist in society. This paper examines this penchant for resistance through the lens of contemporary digital culture, to establish that the sector is continuing to challenge dominant forms of cultural control. It then proposes that this enthusiasm and activity lacks ethical direction, describing it as feral to encompass the potential of current practices, while highlighting how a level of taming is needed in order to develop ethical approaches.