The drivers of innovation diffusion in agriculture: evidence from Italian census data

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Avolio ◽  
E. Blasi ◽  
C. Cicatiello ◽  
S. Franco
Keyword(s):  
Innovation Diffusion ◽  
Diffusion Of Innovations ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Local Expenditure ◽  
Diffusion Dynamics ◽  
Italian Provinces ◽  
Market Opportunities

Innovation is a key issue in the discussion about the links between agriculture, food production and sustainability. Indeed, the creation, adoption and exploitation of innovations can interact with all three dimensions of sustainability – environment, society and economy. Despite the increasing support for innovation practices in the agrifood sector from institutions and public policies, innovation in this sector has spread quite slowly. Indeed, the diffusion of innovations strongly depends on the social, institutional and productive system behind the technological/structural features of the farms. The analysis of the drivers underpinning the innovation diffusion dynamics in agriculture is therefore a very interesting topic for studies in this domain. This paper aims to provide a map of the diffusion of innovations in the Italian agricultural sector, highlighting differences and territorial specificities. We try to explain the drivers and factors influencing such specificities, drawing from data on the agricultural sector as well as information on the institutional and regulatory framework. Data on the diffusion of product, process, organizational and marketing innovations in agriculture have been gathered for the 110 Italian provinces, drawing from the 2010 Agricultural Census survey. Maps of the diffusion of the different types of innovations have then been constructed and analysed. Results show that the diffusion of the different innovation types is not uniform within the country. Some are typical to specific areas where productive or market opportunities occur. Others are not territorial-specific but are linked to the features of the single farms. The influence of the regulatory context also seems to play a significant role. By analysing the local expenditure in rural development intervention, we analyses how the synergies among the productive and institutional systems may act as a driver for innovation diffusion in agriculture.

DISSEMINATION AND USE OF INFORMATION ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND VARIABILITY: A CASE STUDY OF FARMERS IN MALUGA AND CHIBELA VILLAGES IN SEMI-ARID CENTRAL TANZANIA

Mousaion ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Elia ◽  
Stephen Mutula ◽  
Christine Stilwell
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Diffusion Of Innovations ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Adaptation To Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change And Variability ◽  
Semi Arid

This study was part of broader PhD research which investigated how access to, and use of, information enhances adaptation to climate change and variability in the agricultural sector in semi-arid Central Tanzania. The research was carried out in two villages using Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations theory and model to assess the dissemination of this information and its use by farmers in their adaptation of their farming practices to climate change and variability. This predominantly qualitative study employed a post-positivist paradigm. Some elements of a quantitative approach were also deployed in the data collection and analysis. The principal data collection methods were interviews and focus group discussions. The study population comprised farmers, agricultural extension officers and the Climate Change Adaptation in Africa project manager. Qualitative data were subjected to content analysis whereas quantitative data were analysed to generate mostly descriptive statistics using SPSS.  Key findings of the study show that farmers perceive a problem in the dissemination and use of climate information for agricultural development. They found access to agricultural inputs to be expensive, unreliable and untimely. To mitigate the adverse effects of climate change and variability on farming effectively, the study recommends the repackaging of current and accurate information on climate change and variability, farmer education and training, and collaboration between researchers, meteorology experts, and extension officers and farmers. Moreover, a clear policy framework for disseminating information related to climate change and variability is required.

Local government innovation diffusion in China: an event history analysis of a performance-based reform programme

2016 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiannan Wu ◽  
Pan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Innovation Diffusion ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Diffusion Of Innovations ◽  
Event History Analysis ◽  
Event History ◽  
Probit Regression ◽  
Relative Age ◽  
Reform Programme ◽  
History Analysis ◽  
And Diffusion

The performance-based reform programme launched by Fujian province in 2000 has been adopted by many other Chinese provinces, including Zhejiang, Hebei, Anhui and Sichuan, over the past 12 years. This article aims to explore the antecedents of the adoption of this programme, in particular, the effects of senior figures' political promotion incentives and diffusion mechanisms. Specifically, event history analysis based on probit regression is used to examine data from 31 Chinese provinces for the 2000–2012 period. The results show that leaders' relative age and chances of being appointed to the Politburo, and distance to the general election, are significantly negatively correlated with the reform programme's adoption, but top-down diffusion is significantly positively correlated with it. Points for practitioners This study confirms that the nomenklatura system in China shapes the diffusion of innovations through the mechanisms of political promotion incentives and intergovernmental interactions. Thus, the dynamics of innovation diffusion are, to some extent, rooted in particular political institutions and shaped by political contexts. Furthermore, the desire for political promotions may figure as a general deep reason for decisions about whether to adopt innovations; therefore, strengthening these incentives for adopting reforms becomes a key strategy.

Diffusion

2020 ◽  
pp. 178-199
Author(s):  
Hans-Jörg Schmid
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Model ◽  
Diffusion Of Innovations ◽  
Feedback Loop ◽  
Cascade Model ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Linguistic Variation ◽  
Spatial Diffusion ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Diffusion ◽  
S Curve

The chapter discusses the nature of the process of diffusion as a feedback-loop process and explains its contribution to the conventionalization of innovations, to linguistic variation, change, and persistence. The chapter is divided into sections portraying spatial diffusion, social diffusion, and stylistic diffusion as highly dynamic, potentially reversible, and therefore largely unpredictable. Aspects discussed include various models of spatial diffusion (e.g. the gravity model and the cascade model), the S-curve model of the social diffusion of innovations, as well as processes such as standardization, colloquialization, and vernacularization. It is highlighted that all three dimensions of diffusion must always be kept in sight. This is illustrated by discussing the variable -ing vs -in as a standard example of what Labov (2001) calls a ‘stable sociolinguistic variable’.

scholarly journals An Overview and Discussion of Solution Proposals for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security in Sub-Sahara Africa

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Kleemann
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Organic Farming ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Development Economic ◽  
Agricultural System ◽  
Essential Components ◽  
Agriculture And Food ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

<p>The development of the agricultural sector and the improvement of the food security situation are seen as essential components to sustainable development in Sub-Sahara Africa. However, continuing population growth, impacts of climate change and environmental degradation add to an unprecedented combination of pressures that threaten existing efforts and solutions. This article discusses the relation between the challenges of making agriculture more sustainable and meeting food security needs. Several solutions proposals are discussed and organic farming as one of them is used to develop decision criteria. Due to its involvement of all three dimensions of sustainable development, economic, social and environmental organic farming could be one possible approach to create a more sustainable agricultural system.</p>

scholarly journals Interplay between structural change in Central Asian agriculture and institutional scarcity of land and water: evidence from Tajikistan

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Insa Theesfeld ◽  
Frederike Klümper
Keyword(s):  
Structural Change ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Resource Scarcity ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Institutional Relations ◽  
Access Rights ◽  
Third Dimension

Abstract:This contribution focuses on the interaction between structural change in agriculture and the availability of key natural resources – land and water. The relationship is not unidimensional; therefore, we propose three dimensions of resource-induced structural change. The first dimension describes the links between the two critical input factors into agricultural production, namely land and water. To systematize this perspective, we use the concept of linking patterns that depict direct and indirect intersectoral linkages from a property rights perspective. Second, we examinee the dimension of how structural change in agriculture can be triggered by scarcity of natural resources. The third dimension describes structural change that may lead to overuse and scarcity. In this regard, we introduce resource scarcity not only as physical but most important as institutional scarcity. To illustrate these dimensions, we have chosen a case in Central Asia, where the availability and the control of access and withdrawal rights to land and water is of utmost importance for the agricultural sector. Tajikistan faces physical and institutional scarcity in arable land. The institutional scarcity is due to the non-transparent and costly processes that need to be followed to gain land rights. Likewise there is sufficient supply in water, in Tajikistan, but the de-facto access rights to water are limited for some groups. For instance, the post-socialist irrigation infrastructure is now inappropriate to serve all small-scale users on a canal. In the future, land use change due to a predicted increase of major investors, will have additional impact on the de-facto water rights. We conclude that a solid study not only on the physical but also on the institutional relations of agriculture to natural resources is important to come to reliable predictions of structural change in agriculture. We also show that structural change in agriculture may have wider implications for rural society that go beyond the agricultural sector.

The Scale of Production in Western Economic Development: A Comparison of Official Industry Statistics in the United States, Britain, France, and Germany, 1905–1913

1996 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janice Rye Kinghorn ◽  
John Vincent Nye
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Industrial Development ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Plant Size ◽  
The United States ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
German Industry ◽  
Concentration Levels

We use census data and information on large firms to generate descriptions of structural features of Western industry around 1906. We find that although the United States conforms to existing stereotypes, most other nations do not. German industry stands out as having the smallest plants and firms and the lowest concentration levels both in the aggregate and when grouped by industrial classifications. Equally startling, French levels of plant size and concentration are comparable to those of the United States. We speculate on the importance of these results for rethinking the traditional analysis of industrial development in the early twentieth century.

scholarly journals Structural features of the fly chromatin colors revealed by automatic three-dimensional modeling.

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
François Serra ◽  
Davide Baù ◽  
Guillaume Filion ◽  
Marc A. Marti-Renom
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Organization ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Chromosome Conformation ◽  
Three Dimensional Modeling ◽  
Genomic Technologies ◽  
A Genome ◽  
Contact Data ◽  
Three Dimensional Models

The sequence of a genome is insufficient to understand all genomic processes carried out in the cell nucleus. To achieve this, the knowledge of its three- dimensional architecture is necessary. Advances in genomic technologies and the development of new analytical methods, such as Chromosome Conformation Capture (3C) and its derivatives, now permit to investigate the spatial organization of genomes. However, inferring structures from raw contact data is a tedious process for shortage of available tools. Here we present TADbit, a computational framework to analyze and model the chromatin fiber in three dimensions. To illustrate the use of TADbit, we automatically modeled 50 genomic domains from the fly genome revealing differential structural features of the previously defined chromatin colors, establishing a link between the conformation of the genome and the local chromatin composition. More generally, TADbit allows to obtain three-dimensional models ready for visualization from 3C-based experiments and to characterize their relation to gene expression and epigenetic states. TADbit is open-source and available for download from http://www.3DGenomes.org.

scholarly journals Dynamics Of Innovation Diffusion With Two Step Decision Process

2014 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-53
Author(s):  
Michał Szymczyk ◽  
Bogumił Kamiński
Keyword(s):  
Product Quality ◽  
Innovation Diffusion ◽  
Saturation Level ◽  
Marketing Campaign ◽  
Diffusion Dynamics ◽  
Relative Product ◽  
Multi Agent ◽  
Model Setup ◽  
Two Parameters ◽  
Heterogeneous Consumers

Abstract The paper discusses the dynamics of innovation diffusion among heterogeneous consumers. We assume that customers’ decision making process is divided into two steps: testing the innovation and later potential adopting. Such a model setup is designed to imitate the mobile applications market. An innovation provider, to some extent, can control the innovation diffusion by two parameters: product quality and marketing activity. Using the multi-agent approach we identify factors influencing the saturation level and the speed of innovation adaptation in the artificial population. The results show that the expected level of innovation adoption among customer’s friends and relative product quality and marketing campaign intensity are crucial factors explaining them. It has to be stressed that the product quality is more important for innovation saturation level and marketing campaign has bigger influence on the speed of diffusion. The topology of social network between customers is found important, but within investigated parameter range it has lover impact on innovation diffusion dynamics than the above mentioned factors

Fine Structure of the Normal Canine Prostate

1968 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 168-169
Author(s):  
M. D Maser
Keyword(s):  
Secretory Granules ◽  
Single Layer ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Secretory Cells ◽  
Cell Cytoplasm ◽  
Dark Cell ◽  
Dark Cells ◽  
Dense Cores ◽  
High Concentrations

The secretory epithelia of prostate glands of healthy dogs have varieties of organization and subcellular structure that previously have not been reported. In some acini, the secretory cells are columnar, and are aligned in a single layer (Fig. 1). The cells are of two types, “light” and “dark”, which I have been able to distinguish only on the basis of general cytoplasmic density. Other structural features of interest are: extensive lateral intercellular interdigitation; irregularly shaped, large lipid bodies, often associated with high concentrations of glycogen, and present in both the apical and basal regions of the cells; apically concentrated secretory granules, some of which are distinguished by having dense cores; prominent Golgi apparatuses, oriented both apically and laterally; extensive rough endoplasmic reticulum, some cisternae of which are distended; and nuclei which are often observed to be multi-lobular and very irregular in outline. Cells arranged in this manner have well defined tight junction complexes at their lateral apical surfaces.In most acini, however, the architecture is more complicated. Often, thin extensions of dark cell cytoplasm surround and separate adjacent light cells (Fig. 2). The dark cell cytoplasm is expanded in some areas to accomodate mitochondria, and it contains numerous ribosomal clusters and rough endoplasmic reticular cisternae. Desmosomal attachments between the light and dark cells are found commonly in the regions of envelopment. I have not yet determined whether the dark cells completely encapsulate the dark cells in three dimensions.

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