scholarly journals Superweed amaranth: metaphor and the power of a threatening discourse

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florence Bétrisey ◽  
Valérie Boisvert ◽  
James Sumberg
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Extension ◽  
Palmer Amaranth ◽  
Argumentative Discourse ◽  
Press Releases ◽  
Herbicide Resistant ◽  
Ethical Concerns ◽  
Extension System ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Media ◽  
State Extension

AbstractThis paper analyses the use of metaphor in discourses around the “superweed” Palmer amaranth. Most weed scientists associated with the US public agricultural extension system dismiss the term superweed. However, together with the media, they indirectly encourage aggressive control practices by actively diffusing the framing of herbicide resistant Palmer amaranth as an existential threat that should be eradicated at any cost. We use argumentative discourse analysis to better understand this process. We analyze a corpus consisting of reports, policy briefs, and press releases produced by state extension services, as well as articles from professional and popular magazines and newspapers quoting extension specialists and/or public sector weed scientists or agronomists. We show how the superweed discourse is powered by negative metaphors, and legitimizes aggressive steps to eradicate the weed. This discourse reinforces the farmers’ techno-optimism master frame, contributes to deskilling of farmers and sidelines ethical concerns.

scholarly journals Factors associated with farmers’ use of fee-for-service advisors in a privatized agricultural extension system

2021 ◽  
Vol 104 ◽  
pp. 105360
Author(s):  
R. Nettle ◽  
J.M. Morton ◽  
N. McDonald ◽  
M. Suryana ◽  
D. Birch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Extension ◽  
Fee For Service ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Extension System

Innovationsmotor Medientechnik – Von der Schreibmaschine zur «Mittleren Datentechnik» bei der Siemag Feinmechanische Werke (1950 bis 1969)

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-117
Author(s):  
Christian Henrich-Franke
Keyword(s):  
Data Processing ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Strategic Decisions ◽  
Adverse Conditions ◽  
Family Enterprise ◽  
The Us ◽  
Innovative Products ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Media ◽  
The 1960S

Abstract The second half of the 20th century is commonly considered to be a time in which German companies lost their innovative strength, while promising new technologies presented an enormous potential for innovation in the US. The fact that German companies were quite successful in the production of medium data technology and had considerable influence on the development of electronic data processing was neglected by business and media historians alike until now. The article analyses the Siemag Feinmechanische Werke (Eiserfeld) as one of the most important producers of the predecessors to said medium data technologies in the 1950s and 1960s. Two transformation processes regarding the media – from mechanic to semiconductor and from semiconductor to all-electronic technology – are highlighted in particular. It poses the question of how and why a middling family enterprise such as Siemag was able to rise to being the leading provider for medium data processing office computers despite lacking expertise in the field of electrical engineering while also facing difficult location conditions. The article shows that Siemag successfully turned from its roots in heavy industry towards the production of innovative high technology devices. This development stems from the company’s strategic decisions. As long as their products were not mass-produced, a medium-sized family business like Siemag could hold its own on the market through clever decision-making which relied on flexible specialization, targeted license and patent cooperation as well as innovative products, even in the face of adverse conditions. Only in the second half of the 1960s, as profit margins dropped due to increasing sales figures and office machines had finally transformed into office computers, Siemag was forced to enter cooperation with Philips in order to broaden its spectrum and merge the production site in Eiserfeld into a larger business complex.

scholarly journals The media diversity and inclusion paradox: Experiences of black and brown journalists in mainstream British news institutions

Journalism ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 146488492110017
Author(s):  
Omega Douglas
Keyword(s):  
Open Letter ◽  
News Production ◽  
Black British ◽  
Media Diversity ◽  
Diversity And Inclusion ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Media ◽  
Journalistic Field ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Race Problem

Over 100 British journalists of colour are signatories to an open letter demanding the US Ambassador to the UK condemns the arrest of African-American journalist, Omar Jimenez, on May 29th 2020, whilst he was reporting for CNN on the Minneapolis protests following the police killing of George Floyd. The letter is a vital act of black transatlantic solidarity during a moment when journalism is under threat, economically and politically, and there’s a pandemic of racism in the west. These factors make journalism challenging for reporters from racial minorities, who are already underrepresented in western newsrooms and, as this paper shows, encounter discrimination in the field, as well as within the institutions they work for. The letter speaks to how black British journalists are all too aware that the British journalistic field, like the American one, has a race problem, and institutional commitments to diversity often don’t correspond with the experiences of those included, impacting negatively on the retention of black journalists. Drawing on original interviews with 26 journalists of colour who work for Britain’s largest news organisations, this paper theoretically grounds empirical findings to illustrate why and how discriminatory patterns, as well as contradictions, occur and recur in British news production.

scholarly journals Industry update for May 2019

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 555-561
Author(s):  
Louise Rosenmayr-Templeton
Keyword(s):  
Gene Therapy ◽  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Spinal Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Clinical Results ◽  
The Other ◽  
Press Releases ◽  
The Us ◽  
True Meaning ◽  
Genetic Medicine

This industry update features a round-up of pharmaceutical news in May 2019 based on press releases and websites. The month was characterized by the achievement of significant milestones in gene therapy. The biggest of these was the US FDA’s approval of Zolgensma®. This medicine sums up the promise and price of genetic medicine. On one hand the clinical results show Zolgensma can dramatically improve the prognosis for infants with spinal muscular atrophy after just one administration, while on the other, it has been priced at around US$2.1 million. With more such therapies likely to reach the market, the debate on Zolgensma goes beyond cost, to overall affordability, the true meaning of cost–effectiveness and how to reward companies for effective, innovative medicines.

“The Only Thing I Am Guilty of Is Taking Too Many Jump Shots1”: A Deleuzian Media Analysis of Diana Taurasi’s Drug Charge in 2010

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judy Liao ◽  
Pirkko Markula
Keyword(s):  
Media Coverage ◽  
Media Analysis ◽  
Drug Control ◽  
Basketball Player ◽  
Control Procedure ◽  
Professional Basketball ◽  
Drug Test ◽  
Amateur Sport ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Media

In November 2010, the US media reported that basketball player Diana Taurasi tested positive for a banned substance while playing in Turkey. In this study, we explore the media coverage of Taurasi’s positive drug test from a Deleuzian perspective. We consider the media coverage as an assemblage (Deleuze & Guattari, 1987; Malins, 2004) to analyze how Taurasi’s drug using body is articulated with the elite female sporting body in the coverage of her doping incident (Markula, 2004; Wise, 2011). Our analysis demonstrates that Taurasi’s position as a professional basketball player in the US dominated the discussion to legitimize her exoneration of banned substance use. In addition, Turkey, its “amateur” sport and poor drug control procedure, was located to the periphery to normalize a certain type of professionalism, doping control, and body as the desirable elements of sporting practice.

Biopesticide Summit – Regulatory Reform of Biopesticides, Virtual Conference, 6th July 2021

2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 168-170
Author(s):  
Robin Blake
Keyword(s):  
Market Share ◽  
Regulatory System ◽  
Regulatory Reform ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Media ◽  
Virtual Conference ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Chemical Pesticides ◽  
The Eu

This virtual event was held as a follow-up to the inaugural Biopesticide Summit and Exhibition at Swansea University in July 2019, and postponed in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Sarah Harding, Communication Director at The World BioProtection Forum (WBF) & Biopesticide Summit opened the event with a few brief words of introduction before handing over to Dr Minshad Ansari, Chairman of the WBF.<br/> Dr Ansari was delighted with the more than 150 attendees already logged into the event with over 300 registered. The WBF was created in 2019 as a non-profit organization to bring together industry and academia for innovation. Dr Ansari thanked the event's supporters – AgBio, Agri Life, Bayer, Bionema, Ecolibrium Biologicals, Koppert Biological Systems, Harry Butler Institute and Sri BioAesthetics, as well as the media partners including Outlooks on Pest Management. He reiterated the need for regulatory reform due to removal of chemical pesticides, demands for organic food, limited biopesticide products registered and a lengthy and costly biopesticide registration process (5 years in EU where there are just 60 products available vs. 2.1 years in USA and where over 200 products are already available on market). The US is clearly in a much better place; in Europe, it is too expensive for SMEs and little progress has been made despite the work of the IBMA (International Biocontrol Manufacturers Association) and others. With respect to the biopesticides market share (value) by region, Europe has 27.7% market share (21.3% CAGR) and yet within UK, the CAGR is limited (unlike other European countries) – there are few products available in the market compared to chemical pesticides. The current biopesticide regulation is complex and not fit for purpose (compare 60 vs 200). Industry is facing a serious problem with pest control following the removal of some chemical pesticides, e.g.European cranefly which has caused many problems to the turf industry and has been impacted by the removal of chlorpyrifos. However, Brexit provides opportunities in the UK through government plans to "Build Back Better" by supporting Green Tech. At the EU level, the EU has committed to reducing use of pesticides by 50% (equating to 505 products) by 2030 so there are opportunities here for biopesticides to fill the market.<br/> Dr Ansari finished his introduction by restating the objectives for the meeting: for the speakers to present and debate the need for reform, their visions for a successful regulatory system, and how the WBF is working towards process reform in UK biopesticide regulation.

ENHANCEMENT OF YOUTH INVOLVEMENT IN AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION ADVISORY SERVICES THROUGH CAPACITY BUILDING: A SOLUTION TO UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA

2021 ◽  
pp. 22-30
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Capacity Development ◽  
White Collar ◽  
Agricultural Extension ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Tertiary Institutions ◽  
Advisory Services ◽  
Extension System ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Sub Saharan

The unemployment rate in Nigeria and other Sub Saharan African countries keep surging year after year despite the need for human resources in several sectors. Nigeria records a large number of young graduates from tertiary institutions most of whom find it difficult to get white collar jobs. Despite this ongoing, human resource which is needed for economic development remains under exploited. Young people have a sense of responsibility which makes it easy for them to take up opportunities that will lead to individual and societal development. Unemployed youths who have interest in agriculture and the extension system can be recruited into this sector to achieve sustainable agricultural and rural development in these areas. Capacity development is essential in this scenario to absorb these group of people into the agricultural sector, thus, reducing employment rate. Unqualified young persons can carry out the functions or duties of agricultural extension advisory services if their technical and knowledge skills in line with the subject matter is developed.

A dragon eating its own tail: public control of air pollution information in China

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Ravetti ◽  
Tim Swanson ◽  
Yana Jin ◽  
Quan Mu ◽  
Shiqiu Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Government Control ◽  
Alternative Source ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Media ◽  
Public Signal ◽  
Beijing China

AbstractThis paper analyses the implications of government control over public information about air pollution. First, we model the incentives for a local government with control over the media to affect popular perception concerning pollution. We argue that biased announcements can influence the inflows of labour force in a municipality beyond economic factors. Then, we examine some evidence on information misreporting in the context of Beijing, China. We show that official air pollution announcements diverge systematically from an alternative source of information, provided by the US Embassy. The results point at a manipulation of popular perception consistent with the motives indicated in our model. Furthermore, using an original household survey, we examine whether the distorted public signal affects agents' behaviour. We find that households that depend upon government-controlled media are significantly less responsive to pollution peaks.

scholarly journals Pollen-mediated gene flow and transfer of resistance alleles from herbicide-resistant broadleaf weeds

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Amit J. Jhala ◽  
Jason K. Norsworthy ◽  
Zahoor A. Ganie ◽  
Lynn M. Sosnoskie ◽  
Hugh J. Beckie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Reproductive Biology ◽  
Interspecific Hybridization ◽  
Herbicide Resistance ◽  
Palmer Amaranth ◽  
High Genetic Diversity ◽  
Widespread Occurrence ◽  
Common Lambsquarters ◽  
Herbicide Resistant ◽  
Giant Ragweed

Abstract Pollen-mediated gene flow (PMGF) refers to the transfer of genetic information (alleles) from one plant to another compatible plant. With the evolution of herbicide-resistant (HR) weeds, PMGF plays an important role in the transfer of resistance alleles from HR to susceptible weeds; however, little attention is given to this topic. The objective of this work was to review reproductive biology, PMGF studies, and interspecific hybridization, as well as potential for herbicide resistance alleles to transfer in the economically important broadleaf weeds including common lambsquarters, giant ragweed, horseweed, kochia, Palmer amaranth, and waterhemp. The PMGF studies involving these species reveal that transfer of herbicide resistance alleles routinely occurs under field conditions and is influenced by several factors, such as reproductive biology, environment, and production practices. Interspecific hybridization studies within Amaranthus and Ambrosia spp. show that herbicide resistance allele transfer is possible between species of the same genus but at relatively low levels. The widespread occurrence of HR weed populations and high genetic diversity is at least partly due to PMGF, particularly in dioecious species such as Palmer amaranth and waterhemp compared with monoecious species such as common lambsquarters and horseweed. Prolific pollen production in giant ragweed contributes to PMGF. Kochia, a wind-pollinated species can efficiently disseminate herbicide resistance alleles via both PMGF and tumbleweed seed dispersal, resulting in widespread occurrence of multiple HR kochia populations. The findings from this review verify that intra- and interspecific gene flow can occur and, even at a low rate, could contribute to the rapid spread of herbicide resistance alleles. More research is needed to determine the role of PMGF in transferring multiple herbicide resistance alleles at the landscape level.

scholarly journals Economic problems and the threat of the Old World: the USA media assessment

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 214-217
Author(s):  
Sergey Olegovich Buranok ◽  
Katerina Vyacheslavovna Belyaeva ◽  
Margarita Igorevna Tulusakova
Keyword(s):  
Mass Media ◽  
Formation Process ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Red Scare ◽  
Economic Problems ◽  
Soviet People ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Media ◽  
Soviet Russia

The paper is dedicated to the evolutionary formation process of the American mass media perception towards the Soviet Russia during the severe Russian famine of 1921-1922, also known as the Povolzhye famine. The research novelty lies in the deep analysis of the US press assessments concerning the famine. The authors provide the results of their American newspapers examination regarding the image formation of the Soviet authorities, the Soviet people and the so-called Red Scare. The authors research included a review of the main anti-Soviet arguments made by the media; the review revealed that the Povolzhye famine image had a crucial role in the labeling Russia as a retrogressive country. Studying this informational phenomenon allows researchers to understand what impact it had on Soviet-American relations, since it directly affected the perception of Russia and the Russian/Soviet people through the media. This, in turn, might help with comprehension of some stereotypes about Russia that can still be encountered in the American public opinion to date.

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