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Constrained Agricultural Entrepreneurship: Evidence from the Highland Himalayan Context
No full textThis study explores the multifaceted constraints that hinder smallholder farmers from engaging in agricultural entrepreneurship in the highland Himalayan region of Pakistan. Using a qualitative methodology based on 30 semi-structured key informant interviews with farmers’ representatives to agricultural and development experts, the study applies thematic analysis facilitated by the Atlas.ti software and guided by the Gioia approach. The findings reveal eight distinct categories of constraints: sociocultural norms, human capital limitations, financial exclusion, geographic and infrastructural barriers, environmental risks, institutional gaps, political marginalization & conflict exposure, and market & value chain exclusion. These categories are analytically synthesized into three aggregate theoretical dimensions: socio-cultural-economic constraints, spatial-ecological constraints, and macro-structural constraints. This study contributes to the emerging literature on constrained agricultural and rural entrepreneurship, particularly concerning marginalized rural communities. Moreover, it provides context-specific empirical evidence, especially focusing on the scarcely explored remote Himalayan region. The study offers theoretical and practical implications for various stakeholders in fostering agricultural entrepreneurship, thus improving the livelihoods of marginalized Himalayan rural communities
Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Digital Marketing: Theoretical and Empirical Evidence
No full textThe recent surge in the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within digital marketing warrants investigation to better understand its effects on business operations. Consequently, this paper explores the impacts of AI on digital marketing, given their interconnection. It aims to provide both theoretical and empirical evidence regarding these impacts. A qualitative approach was employed, involving a review of 75 articles and conducting 5 in-depth interviews with practitioners from medium and large corporations. The findings indicate that scholars have identified AI's influence on digital marketing in areas such as big data collection and analytics, search engine optimisation (SEO), augmented and virtual reality, Artificial Design Intelligence (ADI), and real-time content creation. Practitioners noted both positive and negative effects of AI, including the provision of real-time information, support for forecasting and decision-making, performance enhancement, high costs, and low return on investment. The results suggest that AI is unlikely to replace digital marketers’ job roles. This paper contributes to the literature on AI and digital marketing and provides valuable insights for practitioners and decision-makers
Raise or stick? Should I penalise cheaters or ignore cheating?
No full textAcademic honesty is fundamental to effective education and learning within degree programmes and to students’ future workplace success. However, academic dishonesty, or ‘cheating’ is growing in scale and scope with more means and forms of cheating being identified by educators. This is only partly due to the emergence of Generative Artificial Intelligence.
Educators’ attitudes toward cheating and the impacts it has on them personally and professionally appear to be influencing their response to suspected cheating. In turn this may be contributing to changing attitudes of students towards cheating. Educators must decide whether to focus on academic enforcement or avoidance. Enforcement requires acting on suspected cheating to formally raise work for an academic dishonesty review which results in additional work and potential stress and harassment, whilst avoidance allows the educator to stick to an informal ‘see no evil’ response which addresses the cheating by manipulating marking to fail the work, marking the work as if there is no issue, or not reviewing papers for academic dishonesty. This choice leads to an inconsistent response which can encourage students to play Assignment Russian Roulette by evaluating the risk-reward of cheating and create a difficult raise or stick decision for educators. Choosing ‘raise’ may open an academic Pandora’s Box that can affect workload and wellbeing; choosing ‘stick’ is self-protective but may encourage academic dishonesty and limit learning
Are Some Immigrant Entrepreneurs More Privileged Than Others? A Cross-National Comparison of Financial Capital Among Start-ups in the UK and UAE
Get PDFThis cross-national study examines how ethnic resources shape access to financial capital among first-generation Punjabi-Pakistani immigrant entrepreneurs in the precious metals industries of Manchester (UK) and Dubai (UAE). Based on 50 semi-structured interviews (August 2022–July 2023) and analyzed through Template Analysis, the findings show that while co-ethnic social capital is widely mobilized across both contexts, significant intra-ethnic variations emerge between Khandani (lineage-based) and non-Khandani entrepreneurs. Khandani entrepreneurs rapidly accumulate start-up capital by leveraging their reputational credibility and transnational embeddedness, securing preferential access to large-scale financing through Rotating Credit Associations (kameti). By contrast, non-Khandani entrepreneurs face delayed entry, relying on modest loans from kin and co-ethnic migrants, with limited capacity to scale. The study highlights how lineage-based prestige intersects with broader kinship networks (Biraderi), producing differentiated trajectories of immigrant entrepreneurship. By foregrounding intra-ethnic stratification, this research extends debates on ethnic resources and mixed embeddedness, demonstrating that not all co-ethnic capital is equally accessible, and that transnational contexts reproduce rather than neutralize status hierarchies
John Matthew McDowell: A Visionary Leader in Molecular Oomycete-Plant Interactions and a Wonderful Mentor and Friend to Many
Get PDFEvaluating knowledge, awareness, attitudes, and practices regarding vitamin D in pregnant and postnatal Ghanaian women: a cross-sectional study
Get PDFBackground
Vitamin D plays a crucial role in maternal and foetal health during pregnancy and lactation. However, its deficiency remains prevalent among pregnant and post-natal women globally, potentially leading to adverse health outcomes. We assessed and compared the knowledge, awareness, attitudes, and practices regarding vitamin D among pregnant and postnatal women in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.
Methods
This cross-sectional study recruited 310 pregnant women and postnatal women from a Municipal Hospital between January to August 2024. A well-structured questionnaire was used to obtain data on demographic, clinical and lifestyle characteristics of participants. Information on awareness, knowledge, attitude and practices regarding vitamin D were also obtained. The binary logistic regression analysis model was used to determine the independent predictors of awareness and knowledge. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results
Most pregnant women (82%) were aware of vitamin D, compared to postnatal women (71.1%). Pregnant women also showed higher knowledge levels (62% vs. 50.3%). Nearly all postnatal women (100%) and pregnant women (98.1%) had positive attitudes toward vitamin D, with comparable good practices (88.8% for pregnant, 89.9% for postnatal). Having non-formal education [(aOR = 17.639, 95% CI (3.218–96.686), p = 0.001)] or basic education [(aOR = 24.956, 95% CI (6.084-102.366), p < 0.001)] was significantly associated with increased odds of non-awareness. Moreover, having basic education [(aOR = 20.946, 95% CI (6.264–70.042), p < 0.001)] or SHS education [(aOR = 2.725, 95% CI (1.160–6.402), p = 0.021)] were the independent predictors of poor knowledge regarding vitamin D.
Conclusion
Awareness and knowledge of vitamin D were higher among pregnant women compared to postnatal women, with educational level being a significant predictor. Future interventions should prioritize education on the importance of vitamin D, appropriate sun exposure, and dietary sources to mitigate deficiency risks, associated complications, and improve maternal health outcomes during and after pregnancy
The Specific Genetic Markers to Diagnose Xanthomonads Infecting Pepper and Tomato Plants
No full textModern farming methods can increase the spread of plant diseases, but whole-genome sequencing enables us to make it possible for studying on disease distribution and how the pathogen populations are varied. However, challenges remain in the efficient and cost-effective diagnosis of major pathogen bacteria species. To address this limitation, we have developed a marker system in order to assess genetic diversity in Xanthomonas species infecting tomato and pepper. We have utilized from the whole-genome sequence analysis and repetitive regions within the bacterial genome. Specifically, we amplified microsatellite regions using PCR, and the resulting fragments were digested with specific restriction enzymes. These fragment profiles served as molecular markers. Consequently, a more precise marker for bacterial identification was developed by combining the microsatellite and RFLP methods to differentiate Xanthomonads species. In addition, we analysed the ancestral ordering of various Xanthomonas species’ genomes available in NCBI using Progressive Mauve Alignment. The data revealed unique collinear regions which are characteristic for Xanthomonas species. These regions were also associated with digested genomic fragments used as markers, enabling the discrimination of Xanthomonas species which are specific for the ones infecting tomato and pepper. We propose that these findings contribute to understanding the genetic diversity of Xanthomonas and rapid diagnosis
Deciphering drought-response in wheat (Triticum aestivum): physiological, biochemical, and transcriptomic insights into tolerant and sensitive cultivars under dehydration shock
Get PDFWheat ( Triticum aestivum L. ) is a major staple crop, but its productivity is severely threatened by drought, especially during reproductive stages when yield and quality are most vulnerable. Climate change and water overexploitation intensify this challenge, with yield losses of up to 80% in arid regions and projected global production declines of ~29%. Drought tolerance is a complex trait involving physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms, including stomatal regulation, osmolyte accumulation, and activation of stress-responsive genes. Advances in transcriptomics, functional genomics, and genome editing have identified key regulators (DREB, ERF, SnRK2), antioxidant enzymes, and ABA signalling components as targets for improving drought resilience. Developing drought-tolerant wheat varieties is therefore a priority for food security.
Materials and Methods
This study investigates transcriptomic responses in root and leaf tissues of three wheat cultivars, Atay 85 (drought-sensitive), Gerek 79 and Müfitbey (drought-tolerant), subjected to 4- and 8-hour shock-dehydration stress. Before RNAseq analysis, biochemical assays were conducted to assess oxidative damage (TBARS) and antioxidant enzyme activities under shock-dehydration stress for three different cultivars. Differential gene expression analysis was performed, and several highly differentially expressed genesincluding TaZFP36, TaMC5, TaGI, TaGLP9-1, and TaFer were selected to validate RNAseq data in both root and leaf tissues of tolerant and sensitive cultivars.
Results
Transcriptomic analysis revealed distinct metabolic strategies for drought adaptation. Photosynthesis-related processes, including Photosystem I and II, were broadly downregulated, while extracellular and membrane-associated components were upregulated, reflecting a shift toward stress defence mechanisms. Cultivar-specific responses highlighted diverse adaptation strategies: Atay 85 exhibited severe metabolic suppression and ATP depletion, making it highly vulnerable to drought. Gerek 79 conserved energy by suppressing photosynthesis while enhancing osmoprotective sugar metabolism and reinforcing structural integrity through lignin and flavonoid biosynthesis. Müfitbey demonstrated the most robust drought tolerance by integrating metabolic dormancy, hormonal signalling, and antioxidant defence, characterized by stable CAT activity and elevated SOD activity, which mitigated oxidative damage and preserved photosynthetic stability. Root tissues prioritized metabolic adjustments for oxidative stress reduction and developmental adaptation, while leaf tissues focused on maintaining photosynthesis and limiting protein damage. Functional enrichment analysis indicated significant upregulation of stress-related pathways, including ABA-mediated signalling, protein binding, and cellular metabolic processes in tolerant cultivars.
Discussion
This study advances our knowledge of the complex molecular and biochemical responses of wheat with differing tolerance levels, highlighting both key candidate genes and antioxidant defence mechanisms as central to cultivar-specific adaptation strategies. The distinct metabolic strategies observed emphasize the importance of tailored molecular mechanisms in drought tolerance, which can guide future breeding programs aimed at improving wheat resilience under water-limited conditions
Pioneering 'a different kind of holiday'
No full textAn interview given to BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester's morning presenter Elliot Webb about my involvement as designer/cartographer in the creation of regional maps representing options to Railwalk around the British coast