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The Golden Gift of Groundwater in Australia’s MDB
Get PDFThe Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) has the second-most variable surface flows in the world. The unreliable nature of MDB surface water supply is expected to increase under climate change. To partially address this future problem, Australia’s government released 927 gigalitres (GL = 1 billion litres) of groundwater rights to agricultural users in the basin under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan (2012-2026). A key argument for that action was the perception that groundwater resources in the basin are sustainable, and more reliable, than surface water resources. Access to more reliable water often transforms agricultural cropping choices.
This chapter uses an optimization model of the MDB to explore how basin agriculture may transform in response to reliable water access—particularly in the northern part of the MDB. We find that traditional opportunistic cropping systems (i.e., annuals) shift towards high-value systems (e.g., perennials) and change irrigation practices when access to groundwater resources is increased. We also examine the change in value for those new groundwater rights as climate change impacts take hold
Creating sustainable value through food waste management: Does customer value proposition matter?
Get PDFPurpose – This research aims to explore retail managers’ views on how food waste (FW)management activities contribute to sustainable value creation and how the customer value proposition (CVP) for a given food retailer interacts with their approaches to FW management.
Design/methodology/approach - A three-stage exploratory qualitative approach to data collection and analysis was adopted, involving in-depth interviews with retail managers, documentary analysis of multiple years of relevant corporate reports and email validation by seven major UK grocery retailers. Thematic content analysis supplemented by word similarity cluster analysis, two-step cluster analysis and crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis were undertaken.
Findings – FW management practices have been seen by retail managers to contribute to all forms of sustainable value creation as waste reduction minimises environmental impact, saves costs and/or serves social needs whilst economic value creation lies at the heart of retail FW management. However, retail operations are also framed by CVP and size of a retailer that enable or inhibit the adoption of certain FW management practices. Low-price retailers were more likely to adopt practices enabling them to save costs. Complicated cost-incurring solutions to FW were more likely to be adopted by retailers associated with larger size, high quality and a range of services.
Originality/value - This study is the first of its kind to empirically explore retail managers’ perception of sustainable value creation through food waste management activities and to provide empirical evidence of the linkages between retail CVP and sustainable value creation n the context of retail FW management
Factors driving Thailand rice farmer decision-making in choice of marketing channel
Get PDFPurpose: Since the end of the latest Rice Pledging Scheme, Thai rice farmers have had more freedom in selecting marketing channels. Understanding the determinants of farmers’ decision-making associated with these channels is of particular interest to multiple stakeholders in the rice value chain. This study aims to examine how economic, relational, and psychological factors concurrently underpin Thai rice farmers’ decision making and influence their marketing channel choice.
Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on the Theory of Reasoned Action and utility maximization of farmers’ decision making, this study used structural equation modelling to examine data collected from a nationwide sample of Thai rice farmers (n=637), focusing on their past and intentional use of the three major marketing channels for paddy rice.
Findings: The determinants identified include four direct independent variables: attitude, subjective norm (social referents), transaction conditions and economic goals, and two indirect independent variables: past behavior and trust. Multi-group analysis suggests that rice co-operative users were more empowered to consider economic goals and attitude towards the channel, whilst rice miller and local collector users were more likely to be influenced by their social referents and the transaction conditions offered by the channel.
Originality: Our study makes a unique and substantive contribution to the knowledge of farmers’ decision-making about marketing channel choice in Thailand and theoretically the indirect role of past behavior in predicting prospective intention.
Practical implications: The findings highlight the need for policy to address trust and transparency issues with intermediaries and to empower farmers through improvement of market access
Illicit alcohol: public health risk of methanol poisoning and policy mitigation strategies
Get PDFIllicit (unrecorded) alcohol is a critical global public health issue because it is produced without regulatory and market oversight with increased risk of safety, quality and adulteration issues. Undertaking iterative research to draw together academic, contemporary and historic evidence this paper reviews one specific toxicological issue: methanol; in order to identify the policy mitigation strategies of interest. A typology of illicit alcohol products, including legal products, illegal products and surrogate products, is created. A policy landscape matrix is produced that synthesizes the drivers of illicit alcohol production, distribution, sale and consumption, policy measures and activity related signals in order to inform policy development. The matrix illustrates the interaction between capabilities, motivations and opportunities and factors such as access, culture, community norms and behavior, economic drivers and knowledge and information and gives insight into mitigation strategies against illicit alcohol sale and consumption which may prove of value for policymakers in various parts of the world
A trust framework for digital food systems
Get PDFThe food system is increasingly reliant on a multitude of data-driven technologies that connect global supply chains and underpin productivity, trade and security. Improved governance of data exchange through a data trust framework - will drive sustainable business growth and secure wider public benefits
Dairy pastoralism sustained eastern Eurasian steppe populations for 5,000 years
Get PDFDairy pastoralism is integral to contemporary and past lifeways on the eastern Eurasian steppe, facilitating survival in agriculturally challenging environments. While previous research has indicated that ruminant dairy pastoralism was practiced in the region by circa 1300 BC, the origin, extent and diversity of this custom remain poorly understood. Here, we analyse ancient proteins from human dental calculus recovered from geographically diverse locations across Mongolia and spanning 5,000 years. We present the earliest evidence for dairy consumption on the eastern Eurasian steppe by circa 3000 BC and the later emergence of horse milking at circa 1200 BC, concurrent with the first evidence for horse riding. We argue that ruminant dairying contributed to the demographic success of Bronze Age Mongolian populations and that the origins of traditional horse dairy products in eastern Eurasia are closely tied to the regional emergence of mounted herding societies during the late second millennium BC
Value creation programmes: lessons from an early‐stage implementation
Get PDFThis paper explores the authors’ efforts to design and deliver a Venture Creation Programme (VCP) at the University of Worcester between 2015 and 2017. The pur‐ pose of the paper is to present critical insights into the manner in which learning can be facilitated through VCPs using our own experiences as an example. The paper begins with a discussion of the authors’ methodology before moving to a literature review addressing VCP’s and related elements of entrepreneurial education best practice. It then shifts to a critical discussion of the authors’ experiences based on insights, student and staff evaluations, and course data. In the process of conduct‐ ing this review the authors found that good pedagogical design, in a VCP context, needs to focus on ensuring that academics promote constructive alignment between the curriculum that is ‘taught’, the teaching methods used, the learning environment chosen and the assessment procedures adopted. Only by minimising inconsistencies which link these factors will students’ experiences of venture creation be fully engaging, promoting more effective, experiential and entrepreneurial development. This paper provides educators with an original and experiential insight into the design of a VCP programme and the pedagogical developments required for their successful implementation. There is considerable value herein for higher education institutions which want to design a new VCP, especially with reference to the curriculum design, experiential learning activities, types and methods of assessments and online learning environments for entrepreneurial students
Examining Yam Production in Response to Climate Change in Nigeria: A Co-Integration Model Approach
Get PDFThis study addressed yam production in response to climate change in Cross River State using a co-integration model approach. The specific objectives of this paper are to analyze the trend in yam production, annual precipitation, and annual temperature, and to analyze the impact of climate variables on yam production. Time-series data from 1996 to 2017 was used. Based on the analysis, which constituted a linear trend analysis, co-integration test, and error correction model, the study came up with robust findings. The linear trend analysis for yam production revealed a steady increase in output between the years 2005 and 2016. The result of the rainfall trend analysis showed the presence of rainfall variability and irregularity. The trend line for temperature showed an overall downward trend for the period under study. However, the Error Correction Model result showed that temperature was statistically significant and negatively impacted yam production. The study recommends that policymakers should take appropriate steps to encourage the development of pest- and disease-tolerant yam varieties because an increase in temperature leads to the proliferation of insects, pests, and diseases
The Energy requirements of racehorses in training
Get PDFThe aim of this study was to estimate the energy requirements of Thoroughbred racehorses in
active training for flat racing. Twenty-two Thoroughbred racehorses in England were
measured over periods from six to fifteen weeks, which included periods of active race
training and temporarily reduced training. Energy intake was determined by measuring daily
feed consumption. Energy output was measured using heart rate monitors during 730
training sessions, relating heart rate (HR) to oxygen consumption (VO₂) and converting VO₂
to energy. Field maintenance requirements were calculated by deducting the marginal energy
cost of training from energy input. The mean field maintenance expenditure during periods of
active race training was 0.1731 megajoules (MJ) of metabolizable energy (ME) / kg of
bodyweight (BW) / day (SD = 0.0174, CI = 0.0073, n = 22 horses, 193 weeks). This result is
11% - 66% greater than the official guidance found in the US, France, Germany and the
Netherlands. Heart rate monitoring revealed a mean energy expenditure for exercise of
0.0212 MJ ME / day (SD = 0.0049, CI = 0.0007, n = 22 horses) for racehorses in active race
training, a result 70% - 82% below the official guidance. The total mean energy expenditure
for racehorses in active race training was 0.1943 MJ ME / kg / day (SD = 0.0177, CI =
0.0078, n = 20 horses 193 weeks), 4% - 22% less than the official guidance. Horses actively
racing had a 12% higher maintenance requirement than those in training but not yet racing (P
= 0.01). The two and three year old horses did not gain weight during active race training,
but grew slowly during breaks in training. This study explores the factors affecting energy
balance in racehorses, and provides updated findings for their maintenance and trainin