Effects of Weak- and Semi-Winter Cultivars of Wheat on Grain Yield and Agronomic Traits by Breaking through Traditional Area Planting

Global warming has changed the suitability of areas traditionally planted with crops, raising concerns about cereal security. To investigate the possibilities and constraints of increasing yields by breaking through traditional area plantings of wheat cultivars, a two-year field experiment was conducted in southern and northern locations in the Yangtze River basin (YRB), China (separated by approximately 180 km), with seven weak-winter types and six semi-winter types, respectively, bred for the two regions. The movement of weak-winter-type cultivars to the north increased or did not change grain yield and their grain yields were not significantly higher than those of local semi-winter-type cultivars. The movement of semi-winter-type cultivars to the south significantly decreased their yields. Thus, breaking through traditional area plantings did not significantly increase grain yields compared with those of local wheat cultivars. Grain yield of wheat planted in the northern YRB was higher by 5 to 20% than that in the southern YRB because of an increase in spikes that resulted from a longer spike formation phase. In addition, the post-anthesis leaf area declined more slowly in the northern YRB because of higher main stem and tiller survival. High-yielding cultivars always had more spikes and larger photosynthetic areas after anthesis than those of low-yielding cultivars regardless of the planting locations, which led to increases in post-anthesis biomass. However, the grain yield of different cultivars was highly variable under different environmental conditions. The coefficient of variation (CV) of grain yield in different cultivars was significantly positively correlated with the CV of spike number and post-anthesis biomass, implying that flexibility spike number and post-anthesis biomass in response to environmental changes can maximize release of yield potential. Therefore, improving main stem and tiller survival can increase spike number and maintain post-anthesis photosynthetic areas and help to establish a large, highly stable, and productive population with a high level of suitability and production through effectively utilizing the resources during the late growth phase. Valuable suggestions for breeding high-yield and -stability cultivars and confirming their planting range in the future are given.

Smiling vs. Frowning Faces

Participatory development has become an integral strategy for achieving sustainable tourism in view of the varying impacts brought by mass tourism. Community participation ensures local control of the pace of tourism development and the creation of a more personalised tourism product. However, some studies have stated tension between governments and locals, which has hindered tourism development. This study, thus, sought to explore the extent to which communities are involved in decision-making and how useful the outcome has been. To achieve the study objectives, two tourism sites in Ghana implemented based on participatory principles, namely Kakum National Park and Afadjato Mountain, were compared. Results of the study suggest there is a fair degree of community involvement at the Gbledi Traditional Area (Afadjato) leading to satisfaction (smiling-faces), rather than Abrafo-Odumase (Kakum), which exhibited dissatisfaction (frowning-faces). The policy and research implications relate mainly to the challenge of achieving sustainable tourism development at the community level.

Continuity of heritage urban landscape: the case of Jeron Beteng Yogyakarta

The urban landscape, which is in a dynamic environment, continues to change, meaning it has transformed the relationship between humans and the environment. Many changes have occurred since the early formation of the city until now. Nevertheless, many heritage urban landscape that has been formed hundreds of years ago are continuing to date with their various elements remain the same. Jeron Beteng is a part of the Yogyakarta Sultanate Palace, which has existed since the early construction of the palace. This traditional area was once a residential area for the abdi dalem (people who served the Sultan and Palace) and the sultanate princes or brothers of the Sultan. Along with the developments of Yogyakarta, Jeron Beteng has developed into a dense urban settlement. Various changes have occurred, both the function of the area, architecture building, and land use. As a heritage area, it is interesting to know whether Jeron Beteng can adapt to the changes and continue as the cultural identity of the Yogyakarta Palace. This paper is based on research that intends to identify the urban landscape characters of Jeron Beteng and examine the continuity of its physical landscape characters as the cultural identity of the Yogyakarta Palace. A qualitative method is used with two approaches: interpretation of the history of Jeron Beteng and qualitative approach based on the contemporary empirical phenomenon. This research found that Jeron Beteng today is the culmination of hundreds of years of physical and social management. It is not just a collection of heritage buildings, events, and precincts, but the whole landscapes, that have unique characters. The character of Jeron Beteng is mostly formed by its physical elements that have heritage values, mainly the Palace, Alun-alun, and the beteng wall. Changes in the spatial and physical environment have happened, however, the essence or core of the physical landscape character of Jeron Beteng is continuing and contributes to the cultural identity of the Yogyakarta Palace and the city.

Access to administrative justice and the role of outreach measures: empirical findings on the Austrian Ombudsman Board

While access to civil-law institutions has been a traditional area of socio-legal research, access to administrative justice still constitutes an underresearched field. In the field of administrative law, public ombuds institutions represent an important pathway to resolve disputes without invoking a court. To date, we have little knowledge about who uses these ombuds institutions and which factors facilitate access to the ombuds. In this paper, on the basis of our survey among users of the Austrian Ombudsman Board (n = 8,274), we explore the effects of institutional design on the user population. The findings suggest that the two outreach measures – regular consultation days and a weekly TV broadcast – contribute to reducing existing inequalities with regard to users’ sociodemographic characteristics.

Socio-Cultural and Economic Importance of Kete Weaving in Agortime Traditional Area, Ghana

Aims: The study investigated the socio-cultural and economic importance of Ewe Kete cloth to the people. It aimed at finding out how the Kete weaving developed as a vocation in the Agortime traditional area, the socio-cultural and economic significance of Kete weaving to the people and how the Kete weaving was incorporated into the teaching and learning processes in the various educational institutions in the Agortime traditional area. Study Design: The study employed the quantitative approach using descriptive cross-sectional survey design. Place and Duration of Study: Sample: This study was conducted among the weaving communities in the Agortime-Kpetoe traditional area from February 2019 to November 2019. Methodology: The simple random sampling technique was used to sample the 100 male Kete weavers. Self-designed questionnaire was used as data collection instrument. Reliability analysis of the questionnaire showed high reliability with Cronbach’s alpha of 0.86. The quantitative data were descriptively analyzed and presented in tables as frequency counts and percentages using the Statistical Program for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results: The study revealed that Kete weaving industry is a source of employment, income, clothing and socio-cultural identity to the people. The findings of this study revealed that Kete weaving and usage features prominently during lessons involving Basic Design and Technology, Religious and Moral Education as well as Social Studies in schools within Agortime-Kpetoe traditional area. Conclusion: It was recommended, among others, that financial institutions in the North Dayi District should provide credit facilities and financial support services to Kete weavers and sellers to enable them expand their industry and business activities. Also, the North Dayi District Assembly in liaison with the Small Scale and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Commission should provide credit facilities and financial support services to Kete weavers and other rural crafts to pave way for sustainable rural development.

Migration, Farmer-Herder Conflict and the Challenges of Peacebuilding in the Agogo Traditional Area, Ghana

Recently, communities in Agogo Traditional Area (ATA) have witnessed an increasing spate of violence leading to loss of lives, loss of livelihoods, insecurity and severe injury among others. This article explores the “local” in peacebuilding by addressing the following research questions: first, how do Agogo indigenes in the diaspora contribute to peacebuilding in Agogo Traditional Area? Second, in which ways do the engagement of Fulani herders and indigenous farmers influence the process of peacebuilding in Agogo Traditional Area? The article employed in-depth interviews, participant observation, key informant interviews and focus group discussions in the data collection process. From an interdisciplinary perspective, the research has introduced the activities of transnational migrants into the discourse of peacebuilding as it positions Ghanaians in the diaspora as local actors engaged in the farmer-herder conflict in ATA. This study has shown that in the case of ATA, despite the potential benefits of the local peacebuilding including the contribution of the diaspora, it is bedeviled with challenges such as mistrust and inadequate resources. The article recommends that local peacebuilding be detached from adjudication in the court of law because the local actors perceive the court as external and ambivalent to the cultural context of local conflicts.

Farmer-herder conflicts, tenure insecurity and farmer’s investment decisions in Agogo, Ghana

Owing to climate change, population growth and tenurial changes, the past decade has witnessed high interest among migrant and settler pastoralist groups in the vegetal-rich customary lands of the Agogo Traditional Area. This has resulted in lease grants of large land areas to pastoralists by traditional authorities and usufruct families, for reasons of ensuring optimum use and gaining the highest returns from lands. This paper examines the implications of consequent competing interests over land resources between farmers and herders on indigenous farmer’s agricultural investment decisions. The study uses qualitative methods and empirical evidence is given by primary data from semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions in the case study area. Results indicated that land owners exploit lapses in customary land administration systems to allocate lands in exchange for money, to pastoralists while neglecting indigenous farmers’ land use rights. Thus, indigenous farmers report land tenure insecurity and a sense of deprivation from their customary lands. Despite tenure insecurity concerns, farmer’s agricultural investment decisions remain unchanged because such changes in investment decisions may reduce incomes and compromise their livelihoods. The findings herein contradict theoretical expectations and provide new perspectives for understanding the relationship between tenure (in)security and investment decisions.