Enhancing the participation of small-scale fishing sector in decision-making: Good practices from Atlantic in EU

The article focuses on the study of prevailing decision making styles of Small Scale Industrial (SSI) Units. It presents data collected from 200 SSI units from Bhavnagar – a coastal city of Gujarat, India. The objective of writing the article is to depict heuristic decision patterns of small and medium enterprises, and the rare use of analytical or statistical business intelligence tools in decision making processes. It would be interesting to study the design of decision taken on routine basis in small units, poorly equipped with technology and technical know-how. The paper is descriptive in terms, and lays a lucid picture of present decision making processes.

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A Confrontation Decision-Making Method with Deep Reinforcement Learning and Knowledge Transfer for Multi-Agent System

Symmetry ◽

10.3390/sym12040631 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 631

Author(s):

Chunyang Hu

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Reinforcement Learning ◽

Knowledge Transfer ◽

Large Scale ◽

Effective Control ◽

Small Scale ◽

Learning Agent ◽

Multi Agent ◽

Transfer Method ◽

Parameter Sharing

In this paper, deep reinforcement learning (DRL) and knowledge transfer are used to achieve the effective control of the learning agent for the confrontation in the multi-agent systems. Firstly, a multi-agent Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (DDPG) algorithm with parameter sharing is proposed to achieve confrontation decision-making of multi-agent. In the process of training, the information of other agents is introduced to the critic network to improve the strategy of confrontation. The parameter sharing mechanism can reduce the loss of experience storage. In the DDPG algorithm, we use four neural networks to generate real-time action and Q-value function respectively and use a momentum mechanism to optimize the training process to accelerate the convergence rate for the neural network. Secondly, this paper introduces an auxiliary controller using a policy-based reinforcement learning (RL) method to achieve the assistant decision-making for the game agent. In addition, an effective reward function is used to help agents balance losses of enemies and our side. Furthermore, this paper also uses the knowledge transfer method to extend the learning model to more complex scenes and improve the generalization of the proposed confrontation model. Two confrontation decision-making experiments are designed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. In a small-scale task scenario, the trained agent can successfully learn to fight with the competitors and achieve a good winning rate. For large-scale confrontation scenarios, the knowledge transfer method can gradually improve the decision-making level of the learning agent.

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Theology at Thresholds: Learning from a Practice ‘In Transition’

Ecclesial Practices ◽

10.1163/22144471-00401005 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 45-62 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Rachel Muers ◽

Rhiannon Grant

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

The Other ◽

Small Scale ◽

Theological Ethics ◽

Reciprocal Influence ◽

Core Practices ◽

Recent Developments ◽

Collective Process ◽

The One ◽

Over Time

Recent developments in contemporary theology and theological ethics have directed academic attention to the interrelationships of theological claims, on the one hand, and core community-forming practices, on the other. This article considers the value for theology of attending to practice at the boundaries, the margins, or, as we prefer to express it, the threshold of a community’s institutional or liturgical life. We argue that marginal or threshold practices can offer insights into processes of theological change – and into the mediation between, and reciprocal influence of, ‘church’ and ‘world’. Our discussion focuses on an example from contemporary British Quakerism. ‘Threshing meetings’ are occasions at which an issue can be ‘threshed out’ as part of a collective process of decision-making. Drawing on a 2015 small-scale study (using a survey and focus group) of British Quaker attitudes to and experiences of threshing meetings, set in the wider context of Quaker tradition, we interpret these meetings as a space for working through – in context and over time – tensions within Quaker theology, practice and self-understandings, particularly those that emerge within, and in relation to, core practices of Quaker decision-making.

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Analysis of Challenges Facing Rice Processing in Nigeria

Journal of Food Processing ◽

10.1155/2015/893673 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2015 ◽

pp. 1-6 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

A. S. Ajala ◽

A. Gana

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Growth Rate ◽

Developing Countries ◽

Population Growth Rate ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Small Scale ◽

Basic Information ◽

Food Crop ◽

Important Food ◽

Rice Processing

Rice is the most economically important food crop in many developing countries and has also become a major crop in many developed countries where its consumption has increased considerably. It has become necessary to meet the demand of the world’s current population growth rate, and the least costly means for achieving this aim is to increase rice productivity, wherever possible. The main challenges encountered by rice processors in Nigeria are to find appropriate solutions for quality rice processing. Therefore this work provides basic information about the challenges of rice processing and focuses on the challenges faced by the small scale rice processors and reasons for continuous rice importation with a view to guiding decision-making to be self-sufficient in rice production, thereby making some improvement in Nigerian economy.

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A CASE STUDY ON THE HOUSEHOLD'S DECISION - MAKING ROLE IN SMALL-SCALE GOAT PRODUCTION IN NSUKKA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA.

Nigerian Journal of Animal Production ◽

10.51791/njap.v22i2.2444 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 169-172

Author(s):

A. R. Ajayi

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Decision Making ◽

Local Government ◽

Herd Size ◽

Local Government Area ◽

Small Scale ◽

Interview Schedule ◽

Frequency Distributions ◽

Enugu State

The study examined the household's decision-making role in small scale goat production in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigeria. Data for the study were collected from 74 households through the use of interview schedule. Frequency distributions and percentages were used in the data analysis. The findings showed that production of manure for replenishing the lost soil fertility under continuous land use was the most valuable reason for rearing goats in the area. The husbands played a larger decision-making role than their wives for certain aspects (such as goat raising initiation; health care; herd-size; planning for organizing for breedings; and grass cutting) of goat production. Implications of the findings for extension practice were presented.

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Scenario-Based Approaches to Change Management in Fisheries Can Address Challenges With Scale and Support the Implementation of an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management

Frontiers in Marine Science ◽

10.3389/fmars.2021.600150 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Louise Carin Gammage ◽

Astrid Jarre

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Knowledge Integration ◽

Ecosystem Approach ◽

Research Process ◽

Scenario Planning ◽

Small Scale ◽

Structured Decision Making ◽

Social Ecological Systems ◽

Prototype Development ◽

Biogeographical Region

The Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF) management, recognising complexity, aims for the holistic, sustainable management of fisheries to promote healthy marine ecosystems and sustainable livelihoods. Effective implementation of the EAF has been problematic as we continue to grapple with issues of scale, knowledge integration and meaningful stakeholder engagement. Scenario-planning approaches in marine social ecological systems (SES) can address some of these challenges. Using systems-thinking, scenario-planning presents the opportunity to address challenges simultaneously at different scales of interaction by addressing the needs at smaller and larger decision-making scales. We here present a prototype scenario-based approach in which we used structured decision-making tools (SDMTs) in an iterative and interactive research process with marginalised stakeholders in a small-scale fishery in South Africa’s southern Cape. Using this approach presented an opportunity for fishers to consider pathways for future responses to change while enhancing personal and local adaptive capacity. At the same time, these marginalised fishers were provided with an important opportunity to freely air their views while engaging with tools new to them. The process did not only benefit fishers, but also provided valuable insights into how they view and experience their marine SES. The use of these tools has provided a means to integrate different knowledge streams, identifying ways in which challenges presented by scale in SES is better addressed. As a next step in the prototype development, expansion to more diverse stakeholders in the biogeographical region relevant for this fishery is recommended. We highlight how this approach can contribute to multi-level governance. When considering EAF implementation, we highlight how engaging marginalised stakeholders need not mean losing the reproducible, transparent processes required for modern management. Lastly, we discuss how multi-scalar flow of information could improve the implementation of an EAF in a developing society, such as that of South Africa.

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WHY SHALL WE CONSIDER THE GENDER IMPLICATIONS OF BIODIVERSITY MANAGEMENT? THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION

New Medit ◽

10.30682/nm1903n ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 18 (3) ◽

pp. 109-111

Author(s):

Ilaria Sisto ◽

Maurizio Furst

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

World Bank ◽

Rural Women ◽

Mediterranean Region ◽

Food Systems ◽

Wild Plants ◽

Director General ◽

Small Scale ◽

Food And Agriculture ◽

The Mediterranean

Women as farmers, livestock keepers, fishers and forest dwellers play vital – often overlooked – roles in natural resources use and management in the Mediterranean region. Women’s exclusion from decision making bodies and unequal access to productive resources represent a missed opportunity in terms of sustainable management of available resources and economic development. Recent studies indicate that if men and women equally participate in the labour market, in the southern Mediterranean region the GDP could rise by 47% over the next decade, meaning an annual benefit from an economic impact of €490 billion (Woetzel et al., 2015). The Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), José Graziano da Silva, at the fourth Regional conference on women’s empowerment in the Euro-Mediterranean region stressed that rural women’s contributions and leadership is crucial to feed the Mediterranean region’s growing population and achieve sustainable food production: «By enabling rural women to reach their full potential, we can make food systems more inclusive, efficient and effective» (FAO 2018). In the region women sustain such food systems by gathering wild plants for food, medicinal use, fuelwood and other purposes, acting as herbalists, tending home gardens, selecting, managing and storing seeds, managing crops, trees and small livestock, domesticating plants, participating in small-scale fisheries and aquaculture, and storing, preserving and processing foods after harvesting. They have a unique knowledge about local biodiversity, which is often passed from generation to generation (FAO, 2019; World Bank, FAO and IFAD, 2009). Nevertheless, still too often women have less access than men to land and livestock, production inputs and services such as education, extension and credit, and are not represented in decision-making processes related to food and agriculture (Lehel 2018; World Bank, FAO and IFAD, 2009).

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