Significance Of Product Type And Brand In The Purchasing Behaviour Of Cattle Feeds: An Empirical Study In Kerala

Cattle feed industry is a major segment of animal feed industry. This industry is gradually evolving into an organized sector and the feed manufactures are increasingly using modern and sophisticated methods that seek to incorporate best global practices. This industry has got high potential for growth in India, given the fact that the country is the world’s leading producer of milk and its production is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 4 per cent. Besides, the concept of branded cattle feed as a packaged commodity is fast gaining popularity in rural India. There can be a positive change in the demand for cattle feed because of factors like (i) shrinkage of open land for cattle grazing, urbanization and resultant shortage of conventionally used cattle feeds, and (ii) introduction of high yield cattle requires specialized feeds. Earlier research studies done by the present authors have revealed the significant growth prospects of the branded cattle feed industry, the feed consumption pattern and the relatively high share of branded feeds, feed consumption pattern based on product types (like, pellet and mash), composition of cattle feed market and the relatively large shares of Kerala Feeds Ltd. (KFL) and Kerala Solvent Extractions Ltd. (KSE) brands, the major factors influencing the purchasing decisions etc. As a continuation of the earlier studies, this study makes a closer look into the significance of product types in the buyer behavior, level of awareness about the brand and its implications on purchasing decisions, and the brandshifting behavior and its determinants

Employment and Income of Workers on Indonesian Oil Palm Plantations: Food Crisis at the Micro Level

The importance of oil palm sector for Indonesia is inevitable as the country currently serves as the world’s largest producer of crude palm oil. This paper focuses on the situation of workers on Indonesian oil palm plantations. It attempts to investigate whether the remarkable development of the sector is followed by employment opportunities and income generation for workers. This question is posed within the theoretical framework on the link between trade liberalisation and labour rights, particularly in a labour-intensive and low-skilled sector. Based on extensive field research in Riau, this paper confirms that despite the rapid development of the oil palm plantation sector in Indonesia, the situations of workers in the sector remain deplorable, particularly their employment status and income. This also attests that trade liberalisation in the sector adversely affects labour rights. The poor working conditions also have ramifications for food security at the micro level.

Self-organized sociopolitical interactions as the best way to achieve organized patterns in human social systems: going beyond the top-down control of classical political regimes

La monografía presenta la auto-organización sociopolítica como la mejor manera de lograr patrones organizados en los sistemas sociales humanos, dada su naturaleza compleja y la imposibilidad de las tareas computacionales de los regímenes políticos clásico, debido a que operan con control jerárquico, el cual ha demostrado no ser óptimo en la producción de orden en los sistemas sociales humanos. En la monografía se extrapola la teoría de la auto-organización en los sistemas biológicos a las dinámicas sociopolíticas humanas, buscando maneras óptimas de organizarlas, y se afirma que redes complejas anárquicas son la estructura emergente de la auto-organización sociopolítica.

Natural effusions: Mrs J. Howorth’s English translation of Albrecht von Haller’s Die Alpen

Albrecht von Haller's Die Alpen [The Alps] was an immensely popular piece of early eighteenth-century poetry, yet it took more than half a century to be translated into English. In this article I examine Mrs J. Howorth's prose rendering of it in her translated collection The Poems of Baron Haller (1794) and analyse how the translation itself reflects late-eighteenth-century scientific, political and aesthetic concerns, notably through the influence of Linnaeus and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Secondly, I explore how Howorth constructed a public image of herself as a female consumer and producer of botanical literature, and argue that her translation constitutes an early example of British women's increasing engagement in science through the activity of translation.

Review of the potential for co-firing of cassava rhizome for generating heat and power in cassava based bio-ethanol plant in Thailand

Biomass is an important source of energy in Thailand and is currently the main renewable energy source, accounting for 40% of the renewable energy used. The Department of Alternative Energy and E�ciency (DEDE), Ministry of Thailand, has been promoting the use of renewable energy in Thailand for the past decade. The new target for renewable energy usage in the country is set at 25% of the �nal energy demand in 2021. Thailand is the world’s fourth largest producer of cassava and this results in the production of signi�cant amounts of cassava rhizome which is a waste product. Cassava rhizome has the potential to be co-�red with coal for the production of heat and power. With suitable co-�ring ratios, little modi�cation will be required in the co-�ring technology. This review article is concerned with an investigation of the feasibility of co-�ring cassava rhizome in a combined heat and power system for a cassava based bio-ethanol plant in Thailand. Enhanced use of cassava rhizome for heat and power production could potentially contribute to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and costs, and would help the country to meet the 2021 renewable energy target.

An evidence-based review on the likely economic and environmental impact of genetically modified cereals and oilseeds for UK agriculture

An evidence-based review of the potential impact that the introduction of genetically-modified (GM) cereal and oilseed crops could have for the UK was carried out. The inter-disciplinary research project addressed the key research questions using scenarios for the uptake, or not, of GM technologies. This was followed by an extensive literature review, stakeholder consultation and financial modelling. The world area of canola, oilseed rape (OSR) low in both erucic acid in the oil and glucosinolates in the meal, was 34M ha in 2012 of which 27% was GM; Canada is the lead producer but it is also grown in the USA, Australia and Chile. Farm level effects of adopting GM OSR include: lower production costs; higher yields and profits; and ease of farm management. Growing GM OSR instead of conventional OSR reduces both herbicide usage and environmental impact. Some 170M ha of maize was grown in the world in 2011 of which 28% was GM; the main producers are the USA, China and Brazil. Spain is the main EU producer of GM maize although it is also grown widely in Portugal. Insect resistant (IR) and herbicide tolerant (HT) are the GM maize traits currently available commercially. Farm level benefits of adopting GM maize are lower costs of production through reduced use of pesticides and higher profits. GM maize adoption results in less pesticide usage than on conventional counterpart crops leading to less residues in food and animal feed and allowing increasing diversity of bees and other pollinators. In the EU, well-tried coexistence measures for growing GM crops in the proximity of conventional crops have avoided gene flow issues. Scientific evidence so far seems to indicate that there has been no environmental damage from growing GM crops. They may possibly even be beneficial to the environment as they result in less pesticides and herbicides being applied and improved carbon sequestration from less tillage. A review of work on GM cereals relevant for the UK found input trait work on: herbicide and pathogen tolerance; abiotic stress such as from drought or salinity; and yield traits under different field conditions. For output traits, work has mainly focussed on modifying the nutritional components of cereals and in connection with various enzymes, diagnostics and vaccines. Scrutiny of applications submitted for field trial testing of GM cereals found around 9000 applications in the USA, 15 in Australia and 10 in the EU since 1996. There have also been many patent applications and granted patents for GM cereals in the USA for both input and output traits;an indication of the scale of such work is the fact that in a 6 week period in the spring of 2013, 12 patents were granted relating to GM cereals. A dynamic financial model has enabled us to better understand and examine the likely performance of Bt maize and HT OSR for the south of the UK, if cultivation is permitted in the future. It was found that for continuous growing of Bt maize and HT OSR, unless there was pest pressure for the former and weed pressure for the latter, the seed premia and likely coexistence costs for a buffer zone between other crops would reduce the financial returns for the GM crops compared with their conventional counterparts. When modelling HT OSR in a four crop rotation, it was found that gross margins increased significantly at the higher levels of such pest or weed pressure, particularly for farm businesses with larger fields where coexistence costs would be scaled down. The impact of the supply of UK-produced GM crops on the wider supply chain was examined through an extensive literature review and widespread stakeholder consultation with the feed supply chain. The animal feed sector would benefit from cheaper supplies of raw materials if GM crops were grown and, in the future, they might also benefit from crops with enhanced nutritional profile (such as having higher protein levels) becoming available. This would also be beneficial to livestock producers enabling lower production costs and higher margins. Whilst coexistence measures would result in increased costs, it is unlikely that these would cause substantial changes in the feed chain structure. Retailers were not concerned about a future increase in the amount of animal feed coming from GM crops. To conclude, we (the project team) feel that the adoption of currently available and appropriate GM crops in the UK in the years ahead would benefit farmers, consumers and the feed chain without causing environmental damage. Furthermore, unless British farmers are allowed to grow GM crops in the future, the competitiveness of farming in the UK is likely to decline relative to that globally.

What is Carbon? Conceptualising carbon and capabilities in the context of community sequestration projects in the global South

Carbon has been described as a ‘surreal commodity’. Whilst carbon trading, storage, sequestration and emissions have become a part of the contemporary climate lexicon, how carbon is understood, valued and interpreted by actors responsible for implementing carbon sequestration projects is still unclear. In this review paper, we are concerned with how carbon has come to take on a range of meanings, and in particular, we appraise what is known about the situated meanings that people involved in delivering, and participating in, carbon sequestration projects in the global South assign to this complex element. Whilst there has been some reflection on the new meanings conferred on carbon via the neoliberal processes of marketisation, and how these processes interact with historical and contemporary narratives of environmental change, less is known about how these meanings are (re)produced and (re)interpreted locally. We review how carbon has been defined both as a chemical element and as a tradable, marketable commodity, and discuss the implications these global meanings might have for situated understandings, particularly linked to climate change narratives, amongst communities in the global South. We consider how the concept of carbon capabilities, alongside theoretical notions of networks, assemblages and local knowledges of the environment and nature, might be useful in beginning to understand how communities engage with abstract notions of carbon. We discuss the implications of specific values attributed to carbon, and therefore to different ecologies, for wider conceptualisations of how nature is valued, and climate is understood, and particularly how this may impact on community interactions with carbon sequestration projects. Knowing more about how people understand, value and know carbon allows policies to be better informed and practices more effectively targeted at engaging local populations meaningfully in carbon-related projects.

Representing violence, playing control: warring constructions of masculinity in Action Man toys

This chapter analyses how children, and especially boys, are constructed as ‘savage’ in relation to warlike toys and representations that narrate particular versions of conflict, such as war and terrorism. The chapter uses Action Man toys as a case study that is contextualized against a wider background of other toys, television programmes and films. Action Man is most familiar as a twelve-inch costumed toy figure, but the brand also extends into related media representations such as television programmes, comics and advertising. The chapter focuses increasingly on the specifics of Action Man representations produced from the 1960s to the 1990s, prefacing this detailed discussion with some examples of transmedia texts aimed at children in film and television. This chapter suggests that making the toy a central object of analysis allows for insights into representations of the gendered body that are particularly useful for work on the child-savage analogy. Some of the cultural meanings of war toys, warlike play and representations of war that can be analysed from this perspective include their role in the construction of masculine identity, their representation of particular wars and warlikeness in general, and their relationship to consumer society. This complex of meanings exhibits many of the contradictions that inhabit the construction of ‘the child’ in general, such as that the often extreme masculinity of war toys and games is countered by an aesthetic of spatial disposition, collecting and sometimes nurturing that is more conventionally feminine. Such inter-dependent but apparently opposed meanings can also be seen in the construction of the child as untainted by adult corruption yet also savage, or as in need of adult guidance yet also offering a model of innocence and purity that adults are expected to admire.

Poverty as an Abuse of Human Rights in Ghana. : A grass roots perspective on poverty and human rights.

The study aimed at getting a grass root opinion on poverty and why Ghana is still poor after 50 years of independence in spite of her richness in natural resources, second largest producer of cocoa in the word and appreciable stable political environment. The opinions of the ordinary people in the Bia district and their observed living conditions was analysed in line with theoretical basis of the study and previous studies to justify the stance that poverty should be considered as an abuse of human rights. It was concluded based on position of informants and previous data available that though many factors have been raised by previous scholars as the cause of poverty, the actions and inactions of both internal and external power-holders is the main source of poverty in Ghana. It was proposed that for poverty to be reduced in a sustainable way there should be strong civil society groups and active citizens through civic education to hold power-holders accountable. Until the actions and inactions of power-holders which have subjected many Ghanaians into intergenerational poverty are seen as human rights abuse, the rights of many Ghanaians would be constantly abused. This will eventually defeat the promotion of human rights culture in Ghana.

Surviving financial distress : the case of too many herbs and spices

Over 120 years ago Sir James Burns founded an organisation that is today, the international business group of Burns Philp and Company Ltd. The Group is widely known as a leading producer of yeast products and manufacturer of other bakery ingredients. Its ability to adapt to the ever-changing demands of business is widely recognised. During the late 1980’s however, after the group expanded into the herbs and spices industry its financial state deteriorated. Yet, arguably the Group had entered a market that complimented its then existing core-activities. This paper examines circumstances surrounding that venture into herbs and spices. It argues that the Group’s financial predicament, at that time, was exacerbated by the use of conventional accounting procedures. It illustrates that up-to-date market related financial details, in lieu of accounting book constructs, more aptly assist directors, managers, all stakeholders to conduct business and make informed economic decisions. This paper suggests that it is an entity’s current financial state of affairs, with regard to tangible market referents, that enables a firm’s strategic progress and facilitates proactive management; and in turn, assists in the sustainable development of business throughout the world.

Freedom and slavery: constructions of ideologies in illicit drugs treatment

Freedom, autonomy, enslavement and coercion have a multitude of meanings which are determined by the writer’s discipline background and intent, even more so in the area of illicit drugs’ policy and treatment. This paper proposes to begin to untangle the multiplicity of meanings which are attached to two contrasting forms of illicit drugs treatment, harm minimisation and abstinence-based treatments. Both treatment regimes lay claim to the high moral ground in this regard - freedom and autonomy are explicit terms used in the rhetoric of both. How this can best be understood and what sociologists can contribute to the debates about illicit drug treatments is the terrain this paper traverses. It does this by laying out the different meanings of the terms in social theory and then by trying to understand the ‘truth’ claims of treatment proponents and using a Foucauldian perspective to critique these claims.

Does the concept of ″altered states of consciousness″ rest on a mistake?

Block (2002) has argued that the multiplicity of meanings ascribed to consciousness is due to the erroneous treatment of very different concepts as a single concept. Block distinguished four notions of consciousness intended to encapsulate the various meanings attributed to the term: phenomenal, access, self, and monitoring consciousness. We argue that what is common to all of these definitions is the implicit distinction between consciousness and the content of consciousness. We critically examine the term “altered state of consciousness” and argue that affixing the qualifier “altered state” to consciousness results in a theoretical confusion of consciousness and its content, that is, consciousness is mistaken for the content of consciousness. We refer to this as the consciousness/content fallacy and argue that it may be avoided if one supplants “altered states of consciousness” with “altered pattern of phenomenal properties,” an extrapolation of the term “phenomenal field.” Implications of the consciousness/content fallacy for theory and research are also considered.

A review of stock enhancement practices in the inland water fisheries of Asia

Inland fisheries contribute only about ten percent to global fish production. Asia is the leading producer of inland fish, accounting for over 80 percent of the total production. Until recently, the inland fisheries sector had taken back stage in fisheries development plans, particularly so, given the emphasis being placed on aquaculture development throughout the world, including Asia. This report evaluates the inland fishery practices in a number of Asian countries according to habitat type, role in overall foodfish supplies and development trends. Special emphasis is laid on stock enhancement in inland fisheries in Asia, and only those fisheries in which some form of stock enhancement is practised are considered in this report.

In Asia, inland fisheries are mostly rural, artisanal activities catering to rural populations and providing an affordable source of animal protein, employment and household income. Stock enhancement is an integral component of many inland fisheries. With recent developments in
artificial propagation techniques for fast-growing and desirable fish species and the consequent increased availability of seed stock, such activities are beginning to affect inland fishery production in most Asian countries. Indeed, new avenues of production such as culture-based fisheries are increasingly adopted and seen as a way forward in most countries. Inland fishery activities also have a distinct advantage in that their development is usually less resource intensive than is aquaculture.

The economic viability of stock enhancement of large lacustrine waterbodies and rivers has not been demonstrated in any of the Asian countries, the fisheries of such waterbodies being dependent on naturally recruited stocks. The most successful stock enhancements in Asia are in floodplain beels and oxbow lakes in Bangladesh where the use of small waterbodies that are not capable of supporting natural fisheries has led to culture-based fisheries having stock and recapture rates that are very high. Culture-based fisheries are not resource intensive and are community-based activities. However, their success requires major institutional changes, and these are affected by national and local governments. In general, they can be considered to have the greatest potential for further development.

A major concern related to stock enhancements in inland waters is their possible effects on biodiversity. This is for two reasons: firstly, most countries depend wholly or partially on exotic species for stock enhancement and secondly, freshwater fishes are known to be among the most threatened of vertebrates. Major studies should be undertaken to evaluate the current situation so that remedial steps can be taken, if needed, without causing serious harm to some of the stock enhancement practices that are gaining momentum.

Putting "space" on the agenda of sociocultural research in education

The global rescaling of the world, culture, and education has influenced how people experience their situationality, meaning-making, and learning in relation to the Other. This article explores the implications of spatial analysis for rethinking education in new conditions of cultural complexity. The experience of living and learning with difference is conceptualized as an open journey in which the very act of movement across spatial boundaries unlocks the fixity of meanings and identities and, hence, problematizes the spatial logic of bounded learning places. Explicating the tension between fixity and mobility, boundedness and flows, this article deploys the concepts of cultural-semiotic space, scale, and boundary to theorize locations of learning and meaning-making in new times.

Professional paradoxes : context for development of beginning teacher identity and knowledges

It is anticipated that the current workforce of teachers in Victoria, Australia will retire within the next 5-15 years. The paradox for teachers at the career entry point is that while they are expected to quickly assume responsibility for education in this state, beginning teachers are reporting dissatisfaction with teaching and describing it as an ‘unprofessional’ profession. Drawing from recently commissioned research for the Victorian Institute of Teaching, a study of sixty beginning teachers and a micro study of the ‘internship’ experience of teacher educators, this paper explores the consequences of what counts as professional knowledge. By problematising identity issues for beginning teachers it is hoped that greater understanding of the complexities of their realities is revealed. The aspirations for the (re) generation of a profession are entangled in discordant displacement of meanings of what it is to become a teacher. What do ‘othering’ and power(less) positions of beginning teachers mean for the immediate future of the profession? What then are the implications for school contexts, colleague support and pre-service teacher education?