Addressing the challenges of sustainable agriculture research and extension at land-grant universities: Radially organized teams at Wisconsin

1994 ◽  
Vol 9 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 76-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. W. Stevenson ◽  
Joshua Posner ◽  
John Hall ◽  
Lee Cunningham ◽  
Jan Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Land Grant ◽  
Institutional Changes ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Land Grant Universities ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Agricultural Societies ◽  
Radial Model ◽  
Single Discipline

AbstractResearchers at land-grant universities are under pressure to widen their research objectives, which requires them to expand their inquiry from a disciplinary base to a systems level, to include farmers and nonuniversity organizations as research collaborators, and to communicate with broader sectors of the public, such as consumers and policy makers. However, there are few rewards for scientists who undertake long-term, systems based research. An approach that brings together multidisciplinary, multiprofession teams using a radial model of organization has successfully addressed these challenges in Wisconsin. A small “hub” manages the team, with the remaining participants linked to component taskforces or “satellite” projects. This enables research to be done on both multidisciplinary and related single-discipline questions. Radially organized teams can attract diverse people with different time commitments and reward incentives. The research meets the criteria of public and academic audiences alike. For innovative research and extension efforts like radial teams to reach their full potential, larger institutional changes are needed within the land-grant system and professional agricultural societies.

scholarly journals Measuring fisheries performance using the “Goldilocks plot”

2018 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ray Hilborn
Keyword(s):  
Primary Objective ◽  
Regional Level ◽  
Fishing Mortality ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Stock Status ◽  
Realistic Information ◽  
Rate Threshold ◽  
The Eu

Abstract Most reporting of stock status accumulated at a national or regional level gives statistics on what proportion of the stocks are below some abundance threshold or above some fishing mortality rate threshold. This approach does not convey useful information on the performance of the fisheries management system in maximizing long-term sustainable yield, which is the primary objective of most national and international fisheries legislation. In this paper, I present a graphical approach for representing how much yield is being lost as a consequence of current suboptimal abundance and fishing pressure. Using the EU stocks assessed by ICES as an example, I show how traditional criteria for overfished and overfishing fail to display realistic information about the performance of the fishery. This approach provides much more useful information for the public and policy makers.

scholarly journals Integrated vaccination and non-pharmaceutical interventions based strategies in Ontario, Canada, as a case study: a mathematical modelling study

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (180) ◽  
pp. 20210009
Author(s):  
Matthew Betti ◽  
Nicola Luigi Bragazzi ◽  
Jane M. Heffernan ◽  
Jude Kong ◽  
Angie Raad
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
Public Health Decision ◽  
The Public ◽  
Epidemiological Trend ◽  
Health Decision ◽  
Pharmaceutical Interventions

Recently, two coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine products have been authorized in Canada. It is of crucial importance to model an integrated/combined package of non-pharmaceutical (physical/social distancing) and pharmaceutical (immunization) public health control measures. A modified epidemiological, compartmental SIR model was used and fit to the cumulative COVID-19 case data for the province of Ontario, Canada, from 8 September 2020 to 8 December 2020. Different vaccine roll-out strategies were simulated until 75% of the population was vaccinated, including a no-vaccination scenario. We compete these vaccination strategies with relaxation of non-pharmaceutical interventions. Non-pharmaceutical interventions were supposed to remain enforced and began to be relaxed on 31 January, 31 March or 1 May 2021. Based on projections from the data and long-term extrapolation of scenarios, relaxing the public health measures implemented by re-opening too early would cause any benefits of vaccination to be lost by increasing case numbers, increasing the effective reproduction number above 1 and thus increasing the risk of localized outbreaks. If relaxation is, instead, delayed and 75% of the Ontarian population gets vaccinated by the end of the year, re-opening can occur with very little risk. Relaxing non-pharmaceutical interventions by re-opening and vaccine deployment is a careful balancing act. Our combination of model projections from data and simulation of different strategies and scenarios, can equip local public health decision- and policy-makers with projections concerning the COVID-19 epidemiological trend, helping them in the decision-making process.

Patriotic Legitimation and Everyday Patriotism in Russia’s Constitutional Reform

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-129
Author(s):  
J. Paul Goode
Keyword(s):  
Constitutional Reform ◽  
Institutional Changes ◽  
Public Discussion ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Campaign ◽  
Russian Politics ◽  
Public Politics

Abstract Russia’s 2020 Constitutional reform was notable not just for the substantial institutional changes introduced, but also for the almost complete lack of public discussion of those changes in elite debates or the public campaign for the nationwide vote. Instead, proposals to write social and patriotic issues into the Constitution absorbed the lion’s share of coverage. These issues were not superfluous, but rather reveal the dynamics of patriotic legitimation and the role of everyday patriotism in Russian politics today. Among Russia’s elite, patriotic legitimation regulates competition, determines the boundaries of acceptable public politics, and provides access to regime patronage. For the public, the avoidance of politics and the appropriation of Russians’ everyday patriotism facilitated the mobilization of an apolitical electorate in the nationwide vote. While the reform may have strengthened the institutional basis of Putin’s rule, it potentially limits the regime’s adaptability and could affect its long-term survivability.

scholarly journals 1039 THE NEW ENGLAND EXTENSION CONSORTIUM: INTEGRATING RESEARCH AND EXTENSION ACROSS A REGION

HortScience ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 577c-577
Author(s):  
John M. Gerber
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
Public Good ◽  
Learning Organization ◽  
Public Access ◽  
Land Grant ◽  
Extension Programs ◽  
Land Grant Universities ◽  
The Public

There is a fundamental need for the land grant system to debate and rediscover its place in society as a learning organization founded upon enhanced internal and external connectivity. Two critical connections are the linkage between research and extension, and cooperation among the states. As with any system in which the component parts are no longer functionally integrated, the land grant system is declining in vitality. Poor cooperation among states and weak linkages between the research and extension functions have reduced the capacity of the system to serve the public good. The New England Extension Consortium was created to enhance public access to the research base of the land grant universities and to increase the efficiency and efficacy of extension programs in the six New England states.

scholarly journals Antiretroviral purchasing and prescription practices in Mexico: constraints, challenges and opportunities

2015 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
pp. 171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Gabrielle Véronique Chaumont ◽  
Sergio Bautista-Arredondo ◽  
Juan José Calva ◽  
Roberto Isaac Bahena-González ◽  
Gerda Hitz Sánchez-Juárez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Protection ◽  
World Health ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Prescription Practices ◽  
Health Market ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
International Data ◽  
Reporting Mechanism

Objective. This study examines the antiretroviral (ARV) market characteristics for drugs procured and prescribed to Mexico’s Social Protection System in Health beneficiaries between 2008 and 2013, and compares them with international data. Materials and methods. Procurement information from the National Center for the Prevention and the Control of HIV/AIDS was analyzed to estimate volumes and prices of key ARV. Annual costs were compared with data from the World Health Organization’s Global Price Reporting Mechanism for similar countries. Finally, regimens reported in the ARV Drug Management, Logistics and Surveillance System database were reviewed to identify prescription trends and model ARV expenditures until 2018. Results. Results show that the first-line ARV market is concentrated among a small number of patented treatments, in which prescription is clinically adequate, but which prices are higher than those paid by similar countries. The current set of legal and structural options available to policy makers to bring prices down is extremely limited. Conclusions. Different negotiation policies were not successful to decrease ARV high prices in the public health market. The closed list approach had a good impact on prescription quality but was ineffective in reducing prices. The Coordinating Commission for Negotiating the Price of Medicines and other Health Supplies also failed to obtain adequate prices. To maximize purchase efficiency, policy makers should focus on finding long-term legal and political safeguards to counter the high prices imposed by pharmaceutical companies.

Mysteries in the Marsh

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Giblin
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Information ◽  
Student Experiences ◽  
Ecological Research ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Level Of Involvement ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Gift ◽  
Long Term Ecological Research ◽  
Students First

I feel as though my graduate student experiences “preadapted” me to become involved in long-term ecological research. I already enjoyed collaborative research and instantly felt comfortable in the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program when I first had the opportunity to work in it. Working on large, collaborative projects offers a great number of opportunities for students and postdoctoral fellows, but their mentors need to ensure that they develop intellectually independent ideas. Giving students and postdoctoral fellows the long-term collaborative view of science while having them develop as fully independent scientists is a balancing act that I try to always keep in mind. The LTER program has led me into an increased level of communication with the public, students, and local and regional level managers and policy-makers. I have found that at every level people are hungry for scientific information, and my interactions with all of them have been extremely rewarding—although challenging. It has forced me to expand my communication skills and work with others who have the gift of science translation. There are costs and benefits to scientific collaboration that change with the size of the project and with one’s level of involvement in the project. Entraining young scientists is a challenge for large-sized projects, such as those in the LTER program. It was 1975 when I and several other beginning graduate students first walked down a short path through the woods to the Great Sippewissett Marsh in Falmouth, Massachusetts. Ahead of me marched my major professor, Ivan Valiela. As we explored the marsh, Ivan pointed out numerous circular plots staked in the grass. These, it turned out, defined the bounds of his fertilization experiments. The grass within some of the plots was distinctly greener and taller compared to others. Ivan began explaining the marsh fertilization experiment that he had begun 5 years earlier with John Teal. He described how the responses of the marsh seemed to differ with the amount of added fertilizer. The community composition of the vegetation had been changing over time.

scholarly journals The Time Value of Carbon Storage

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zack Parisa ◽  
Eric Marland ◽  
Brent Sohngen ◽  
Gregg Marland ◽  
Jennifer Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Storage ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Early Action ◽  
Natural Climate

Abstract Widespread concern about the risks of global climate change is increasingly focused on the urgent need for action (IPCC, 2018; IPCC, 2021), and natural climate solutions are a critical component of global strategies to achieve low temperature targets (e.g. Griscom et al. 2017, Roe et al. 2019). Yet to date, the full potential of natural systems to store carbon has not been leveraged because policy-makers have required long-term contracts to compensate for permanence concerns, and these long-term contracts substantially raise costs and limit deployment. In this paper, we lay out the rationale that our time preference for early action embedded in the Global Warming Potentials (GWP) leads to the conclusion that multiple tons of short-term storage of carbon in ecosystem stocks can be considered to have equal value – as measured by the social cost of carbon -- as 1 ton of carbon sequestered permanently. This equivalence can be used to quantify the value of short-term carbon storage, thereby removing one of the most significant barriers to participation in the carbon market and enabling the full climate mitigation potential of the land sector to be realized.

scholarly journals The public health implications of assisted reproductive technologies

2010 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 119-124
Author(s):  
R. Deonandan
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Assisted Reproductive Technologies ◽  
Preterm Births ◽  
Reproductive Technologies ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Health Implications ◽  
The Public ◽  
Short And Long Term

Objective The public health implications of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) are largely unknown by researchers and policy makers alike. Outcomes need to be considered, not just as clinical issues, but in terms of effect on public health. Methods Using a qualitative key informant process involving interviews with selected professionals and a review of the medical literature, eight general themes of public health issues associated with ART were identified, and are discussed. Recommendations Short and long-term health outcomes of women undergoing ART procedures, and of their offspring, need to be considered, as do the epidemiological risks associated with donated gametes and the effect on health services of multiple and preterm births, both produced in higher rates by ART. A national surveillance system and greater inter-jurisdictional communication are important strategies for addressing these evolving concerns.

scholarly journals Selling the Earth: re-purposing geoscience communications

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iain Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Business World ◽  
Communication Practice ◽  
The Public ◽  
Sense And Respond ◽  
Research Organisations

Earth scientists have a critical role to play in communicating to the public and policy makers what we know about looming societal threats including climate change, extreme natural events, resource conflicts and the energy transition. But whilst geoscientists are being encouraged - and, increasingly, trained - to ‘go public’ with our science, what is less clear is to what extent our current geo-communications are effectively addressing the long-term planetary concerns that confront society.In this paper we argue that scientists are the interface between the research organisations that produce knowledge and the wider public who could use that knowledge, and, in that regard, are akin to marketers in the business world. Drawing from the dominant paradigms that shape business marketing, we re-consider the prevailing models of science communication and their consequent sense of purpose. We identify three dominant approaches of marketing-led science communication: ‘make-and-sell’; ‘sense-and-respond’; and ‘guide-and-co-create’. We judge the first two to be incompatible with delivering long-term sustainability, in contrast to the emergent guide-and-co-create mode - purpose-driven, interdisciplinary, participatory, and reflexive - which we contend is best placed to tackle long-term geo-environmental concerns through having a clear wellbeing- focused objective whilst co-creating the path to achieving it.We conclude with the contention that adopting a guide-and-co-create approach to science communications will require not only rethinking communication practice within universities but also radical institutional regime change towards universities becoming purpose-driven organisations.

scholarly journals Analysis of Public Debt at Subnational Government Levels: Evidence from Cantons in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-123
Author(s):  
Jasmin Halebić ◽  
Amina Moćević
Keyword(s):  
Bosnia And Herzegovina ◽  
Public Debt ◽  
Trade Balance ◽  
Budget Deficit ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Institutional Changes ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Subnational Government

AbstractTotal public debt of ten cantons in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), one of the two entities in BiH, have substantially increased in recent years. Since it is relatively small in nominal terms, this galloping trend have not attracted enough attention of decision makers. If these developments continue in the future, the public debt at cantonal level in FBiH might create serious fiscal problems and become one of central issues for policy makers. This has motivated our investigation of determinants that caused the increase in public debt over the period 2012-2018.We apply a panel regression analysis and investigate how budget deficit, trade balance, unemployment rate, size of population and institutional changes affect public debt. We find that public debt is positively associated with budget deficit but negatively associated with trade balance, the size of population and institutional changes. These findings motivated policy recommendations presented in the paper.

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