Factors influencing the success of animal husbandry cooperatives: A case study in Southwest Iran

This survey study aimed at identifying the factors influencing the success of animal husbandry cooperatives in Southwest Iran. Using a questionnaire, the data were collected from 95 managing directors of the cooperatives who were chosen through a multi-stage stratified random sampling method. This study showed an essential need for a systemic framework to analyze the cooperatives’ success. The results showed that the “Honey Bee”, “Cattle (dairy)”, and “Lamb” cooperatives were the most successful among different kinds of the cooperatives. Also, among individual attributes, “interest”, “technical knowledge”, and “understanding the concept of cooperative”; among economic variables, “income” and “current investment”; and among external factors, “market access” have significant correlation with the success while structural variables have no significant relation. Furthermore, among all the factors, four variables (“interest”, “understanding the concept of cooperative”, “market access”, and “other incomes”) can explain the variations of the success.

Dairy farms typology and management of animal genetic resources in the peri-urban zone of Bamako (Mali)

Facing growth in demand, dairy production in peri-urban areas of developing countries is changing rapidly. To characterise this development around Bamako (Mali), this study establishes a typology of dairy production systems with a special focus on animal genetic resources. The survey included 52 dairy cattle farms from six peri-urban sites. It was conducted in 2011 through two visits, in the dry and harvest seasons. The median cattle number per farm was 17 (range 5-118) and 42% of farmers owned cropland (8.3 +/- 7.3 ha, minimum 1 ha, maximum 25 ha). Feeding strategy was a crucial variable in farm characterisation, accounting for about 85% of total expenses. The use of artificial insemination and a regular veterinary follow-up were other important parameters. According to breeders’ answers, thirty genetic profiles were identified, from local purebreds to different levels of crossbreds. Purebred animals raised were Fulani Zebu (45.8%), Maure Zebu (9.2%), Holstein (3.0%), Azawak Zebu (1.3%), Mere Zebu (0.5%) and Kuri taurine (0.1%). Holstein crossbred represented 30.5% of the total number of animals (19.0% Fulani-Holstein, 11.2% Maure-Holstein and 0.3% Kuri-Holstein). Montbéliarde, Normande and Limousin crossbreds were also found (6.6%, 0.7% and 0.3%, respectively). A multivariate analysis helped disaggregate the diversity of management practices. The high diversity of situations shows the need for consideration of typological characteristics for an appropriate intervention. Although strongly anchored on local breeds, the peri-urban dairy systems included a diversity of exotic cattle, showing an uncoordinated quest of breeders for innovation. Without a public intervention, this dynamic will result in an irremediable erosion of indigenous animal genetic resources.

The Age of Social Machines

Many of the most successful and important systems that impact our lives combine humans, data, and algorithms at Web Scale. These social machines are amalgamations of human and machine intelligence. This seminar will provide an update on SOCIAM, a five year EPSRC Programme Grant that seeks to gain a better understanding of social machines; how they are observed and constituted, how they can be designed and their fate determined. We will review how social machines can be of value to society, organisations and individuals. We will consider the challenges they present to our various disciplines.

Zoo in the sky : a book of animal constellations.

Cuando se pone el sol y cae la oscuridad, se iluminan las estrellas y el cielo parece la imagen de un rompecabezas. El conjunto de estrellas sobre el cielo forman imaginariamente dibujos que evocan figuras de animales, aves y peces: Escorpión, León, Ballena, Dragón, así hasta un total de diecinueve. Se completa con mapas e información sobre las estrellas.

The age of excess : America 1920-1932.

Entre 1920 y 1932 Estados Unidos aumentó en gran medida su nivel de prosperidad y, a continuación, se estrelló en las profundidades de la depresión. América es la tierra de la oportunidad y su sistema democrático ofrece un sueño de libertad a pesar de los problemas raciales, la intolerancia política, la prohibición, los gangsters, la violencia y las diferencias religiosas. Estos años fueron los locos años veinte que terminaron con el Crash de 1929.Incluye fragmentos de fuentes históricas originales, así como, material de aprendizaje activo: ejercicios, preguntas y pruebas.

Cognitive decline before the age of 50 can be detected with sensitive cognitive measures

Resumen tomado de la publicaci??n

Criminality and legitimization in seawaters: a study on the pirates of Malabar during the age of european commercial expansion (1500-1800)

The maritime piracy included a wide variety of associated criminal activities including attack and confiscation of vessels and merchandise, imprisonment or torturing of merchants and rulers in sea-space in return for ransom money, attack and raiding of coastal trading centers and villages, creation of fear and terror in chief channels of navigation and attacking commercial competitors as a strategy to weaken the trading ability and the wealth-mobilizing ability of their rivals. All this applied to coastal south west India during the period under study. The merchant chiefs of Cannanore like Mamale Marakkar and later under Poca Amame (Pokar Ahamad) and Pocarallee (Pokar Ali) were some of the better known protagonists that the Portuguese had to deal with. But the Malabar corsairs had their corresponding English and Sicilian corsairs in the Mediterranean.