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An exploration of the marketing academic/ practitioner disconnect in Australasia
No full textThis qualitative study investigates Commercial Marketing Practitioner (CMP) perspectives of academic marketing research (AMR), with a focus on the disconnect of integration of AMR into contemporary industry practice. This research-practice-gap is acknowledged across social sciences. However, further insight is needed to comprehend the factors creating the gap to bridge the gap. Across the literature, scholars have identified the need for theory to drive practice and for practice to stimulate theory development. Both theory and practice are deemed crucial in the continuation of knowledge generation. CMPs operating in dynamic landscapes, such as digital innovation, require timely knowledge to navigate decision making in their professional discipline. 12 semi-structured interviews with CMPs in Australia (2) and New Zealand (10) were conducted utilising quota sampling to ensure a variation of industries, business size, and industry experience. Thematic analysis was utilised to reveal common themes. The results indicate AMR infrequently informs strategic decisions; however, its value is acknowledged. The relevance of AMR is not fully realised due to perceptions the internet (including sources with questionable credibility) provides the more up to date information CMPs require to stay abreast, particularly with regard to technology in a rapidly changing environment. CMPs prefer ‘snackable’ served up content they subscribe to for more tailored ‘content’. Various online platforms, such as social media, are dominant in the dissemination of this information. The results indicate there is an opportunity to integrate the use of AMR in congruence with contemporary CMP requirements, e.g. through bite-sized content in accessible channels. A desire for up-to-date AMR was evident, with a need for guidance on decision making around innovations within the field of marketing. As the innovative information needs evolve, so too is the opportunity for the advancement of this knowledge within AMR, for the profession of marketing
A systematic review and meta-analysis of cow-level factors affecting milk urea nitrogen and urinary nitrogen output under pasture-based diets
No full textWith dairy cattle farming under pressure to lower its environmental footprint it is important to find effective on-farm proxies for evaluation and monitoring of management practices aimed at reducing the risk of nitrogen (N) losses and optimizing N use efficiency of dairy farm systems. Urinary N (UN) is regarded as the most potent source of N emissions. In contrast to confinement systems, there have been few studies from pasture-based systems associating on-farm animal and nutritional factors with UN output. Thus, the aims of this meta-analysis were to collate a database from pasture-based research to: (a) investigate the associations of management, dietary, and animal variables with MUN concentration, and daily UN output; (b) describe the MUN-UN association; and (c) assess whether animal, management, and dietary factors influence the relationship. We developed a data set consisting of 95 observations representing 919 lactating dairy cattle fed pasture-based diets, which was compiled from 32 unique research publications that reported both MUN and UN output. Multi-level, mixed meta-analysis regression techniques were used to analyze the data. Initially, all variables were assessed as the sole fixed effect in a 2-level random effects model, accounting for within publication heterogeneity. Meta-regression techniques were then used to assess the relationship of all variables with MUN and UN output, respectively, accounting for 3 sources of variability: the sampling error of the individual observation, within publication heterogeneity, and among publication heterogeneity. At the univariable level, despite more than 10 dietary, animal, or management variables being significantly associated with MUN, none explained a large amount of the MUN variation. The variables that explained the greatest amount of variation were dietary crude protein (CP) content and the nitrogen: metabolizable energy content ratio, which explained about 33% and 31% of the variation in MUN concentrations, respectively. Combining factors in multiple regressions improved the model fit, such that the variation within publications explained by dietary CP and N intake increased to 40.0% in the final multiple meta-regression model. For UN output, individual variables explained a greater proportion of variance reported among observations, compared with MUN, whereby diet CP content (pseudo R² = 66.1%), N to metabolizable energy intake ratio (pseudo R² = 64.0%), N intake (pseudo R² = 58.3%), and MUN (pseudo R² = 43.5%) explained the greatest amount of the total variation. Milk urea nitrogen, N intake and dry matter intake were associated with UN output in the final multiple meta-regression model. Substantial heterogeneity existed in both MUN and UN among publications, with among publication heterogeneity accounting for 73.4% of all the variation noted in MUN, and 88.6% of all the variation in UN output. As such, the meta-analyses could not predict MUN and UN to any great extent. It is recommended that a consistent approach to measuring and reporting MUN concentrations and UN output is carried out for all future research in pasture-based systems
Learning governance from indigenous supply chains
No full textThere is continuing interest in how organisations develop supply chain governance to deliver value (Shamsollahi et al, 2021). Some authors have focused on governance in terms of supply chain structure and management approaches (Brito et al, 2017). Others have explored the question of how to balance contractual and relational approaches (Bai et al., 2016). Yet, others have considered the merits of different theoretical lenses, including transaction costs economics, resource dependence theory, network theory and principal agent theory, to comprehend dyadic and network governance (Halldórsson et al, 2015). However, for indigenous people many of the governance insights provided are based on a modernist perspective where nature does not have agency and is viewed as passive. Recently, the role and importance of the planet and nature in governance has begun to evolve in the supply chain literature (Mirzabeiki and Aitken, 2023). In contrast, the core of the Māori governance is the interconnectedness of all living things highlighting that “the relationships humans have with the nonhuman entities are reciprocal and contextual rather than unidirectional and contextual” (Reid and Rout, 2016: 429). The purpose of this research is to understand how governance based on Māori nature interconnectedness is structured and operates. Through comprehending how supply chains can be governed through harmonious connections to the planet the paper contributes to the governance and sustainability literature
Extending GLUE With multilevel methods to accelerate statistical inversion of hydrological models
No full textInverse problems aim at determining model parameters that produce observed data to subsequently understand, predict or manage hydrological or other environmental systems. While statistical inversion is especially popular, its sampling-based nature often inhibits its application to computationally costly models, which has compromised the use of the Generalized Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) methodology, for example, for spatially distributed (partial) differential equation based models. In this study we introduce multilevel GLUE (MLGLUE), which alleviates the computational burden of statistical inversion by utilizing a hierarchy of model resolutions. Inspired by multilevel Monte Carlo, most parameter samples are evaluated on lower levels with computationally cheap low-resolution models and only samples associated with a likelihood above a certain threshold are subsequently passed to higher levels with costly high-resolution models for evaluation. Inferences are made at the level of the highest-resolution model but substantial computational savings are achieved by discarding samples with low likelihood already on levels with low resolution and low computational cost. Two example inverse problems, using a rainfall-runoff model and groundwater flow model, demonstrate the substantially increased computational efficiency of MLGLUE compared to GLUE as well as the similarity of inversion results. Findings are furthermore compared to inversion results from Markov-chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) and multilevel delayed acceptance MCMC, a corresponding multilevel variant, to compare the effects of the multilevel extension. All examples demonstrate the wide-range suitability of the approach and include guidelines for practical applications
Doing conferences differently: Decentralising for ecological and social sustainability
No full textConferences are invaluable for career progression, offering unique opportunities for networking, collaboration, and learning. However, there are challenges associated with the traditional in-person conference format. For example, there is a significant ecological impact from attendees’ travel behaviour, and there are social inequities in conference attendance, with historically marginalised groups commonly facing barriers to participation. Innovative event design practices that enable academic conferences to be ‘done differently’ are crucial for addressing these ecological and social sustainability challenges. However, while some innovative conference practices have emerged in recent years, largely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been little research carried out on the effectiveness of such practices. Our study addresses this gap using a mixed methods approach to analyse a real-world decentralised conference held in 2023, comparing it to traditional in-person conference and fully online conference scenarios. The decentralised format consists of local in-person hubs in different locations around the world, each with a bespoke local programme developed around a shared core global programme. We calculated the CO₂ emissions from transport for each scenario and found the decentralised conference had significantly lower emissions than a traditional in-person conference, but higher emissions than a fully online conference. We also interviewed 14 local hub organisers and attendees to gain their perspectives about the ecological and social sustainability benefits of the decentralised conference format. We found that the more accessible and inclusive format attracted a more diverse range of attendees, meaning that the benefits attributed to conference attendance were able to be shared more equitably. This study is the first to provide evidence of the ecological and social sustainability benefits of doing conferences differently; by doing so it can be used in the argument to help transition conferences to a more desirable state in terms of ecological and social sustainability
Urban seascaping with seaweed—Multiscalar network mapping as a framework for design analysis and projection of marine nature-based solutions for coastal adaptation in Vejle, Denmark
No full textCoastal cities are not designed to accommodate the marine realm. Due to climate change, the sea is encroaching on our coastal cities, and designers face the challenge of future scenarios with the increasing presence of water and other interconnected issues, such as biodiversity loss and increasing water pollution due to anthropogenic activities. The complex entanglements between land and sea, human and nonhuman agencies pose challenges that require a new way of thinking and doing. For instance, the traditional notion of a site with clear boundaries is confronted by the networks of water that take issues across micro to macro scales. Therefore, to engage with water means to think in systems (networks)—a reality that necessitates developing new visual tools capable of encapsulating interrelations across scales, transcending conventional forms of mapping and analysis. In response to this challenge, I present an interactive multiscalar network map entitled Urban Seascaping. Departing from a case study site of Vejle in Denmark, Urban Seascaping is a critical proposition to engage with alternative approaches to coastal development by integrating marine nature-based solutions as an integral part of place-making. The map is developed as an online, interactive visual tool for practitioners, educators, and municipal members to think with increasing transdisciplinary complexity in the information age and contribute to the evolution of mapping that brings forth marine actors such as seaweed. Urban Seascaping is thus an ode to the often-forgotten world underneath, using seaweed as a catalyst for the urban transformation of coastal cities in an increasingly wet world
Mechanization in land preparation and irrigation water productivity: Insights from rice production
Get PDFThis study investigates how and to what extent mechanization in land preparation (MLP) can help improve irrigation water productivity (IWP) (measured as rice yield per unit volume of irrigation water). We employed an endogenous treatment regression model to estimate the 2021 China Land Economic Survey (CLES) data collected from Jiangsu province, China. The results reveal that MLP adoption increases IWP significantly; a higher IWP is determined by whether or not farmers adopt MLP rather than through which channel they access their farm machines; the effects of MLP adoption on IWP are monotonically increasing across the selected quantiles
Potential of biocontrol for the sustainable management of plant diseases in Scotland: Opportunities and barriers
No full textPrevious PHC projects identified biocontrol as a major element of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) with a role to play in mitigating pesticide withdrawals. However, it is currently unclear how practical biocontrol is as a suitable alternative to pesticides in Scotland, what the opportunities are for deployment across different sectors and what barriers exist to uptake (including regulatory). The objective of this project was to understand the current situation of microbial biocontrol in Scotland by synthesising the findings from stakeholder workshops and a literature review. Findings indicated that microbial biocontrol has the potential to play an important role in sustainable plant protection within Scotland but it was evident that at present uptake is very low, even although commercial options are available, and despite a body of research and development activity. Recommendations to improve the uptake of microbial biocontrol agents (MBCA) in Scotland included knowledge exchange and comprehensive guidance to increase stakeholders’ knowledge and understanding on using MBCA and the development of a new regulatory framework to streamline the registration of MBCA
Bacterial cellulose infusion: A comprehensive investigation into textural, tribological and temporal sensory evaluation of ice creams
Get PDFThe study examines how adding bacterial cellulose also referred to as Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast (SCOBY) to ice cream affects the textural, tribological, and sensory attributes, particularly texture and mouthfeel perception. Analytical assessments were performed on three types: SCOBY-added ice cream and two reference samples (control and guar gum-added ice creams). Evaluations included physicochemical properties, textural and tribological characteristics, and dynamic sensory mouthfeel using the temporal dominance of sensation (TDS) methodology. SCOBY ice cream showed higher probiotics content, lower pH, and higher acidity than reference samples. The addition of SCOBY increased hardness and altered the textural properties. TDS analysis highlighted distinct temporal dominance patterns, with guar gum ice cream presenting a pronounced mouth/residual coating pre-swallowing, while SCOBY and control ice cream exhibited a thin/fluid perception. The frictional factor at 37 ⁰C was positively correlated with the melting rate, graininess, and thin/fluid perception while negatively correlated with firmness, smoothness and mouthfeel liking. Additionally, the mouthfeel liking was higher with firm, smooth and mouth/residual coating sensations and lower with grainy and thin/fluid perception. In summary, incorporating SCOBY in ice cream formulations can provide health benefits and meet consumer preferences for natural ingredients, while ensuring careful optimization of mouthfeel