Lesotho's food priorities

Lesotho is a small independent nation completely surrounded by South Africa. Of its 33000 km², 87% is peaks and high mountain pastures, leaving only one km² of arable land for each 325 people. Low yields on limited arable land leave the country serious food deficit. Production shortfalls are overcome with large commercial imports and substantial concessional food aid. Commercial imports through retail channels are financed by migrant remittances. Nearly half of the male labour force work in South Africa. Their repatriated wages contribute 40% of gross national income and 63% of rural household income.¹ Thus consumer markets are relatively well monetized and 55% of migrant remittances is spent on food.²     

零碳建筑技术路线研究

为实现零碳建筑的零碳排放和超低能耗目标,提出了零碳建筑的技术路线。利用负荷能耗指标作为技术评价标准,以保定市某幼儿园实际工程为例,通过DeST软件模拟,分析了本项目全年负荷变化,冷热负荷指标以及负荷能耗指标,然后通过正交试验与极差分析得出不同影响因素对建筑热负荷的影响程度。结果表明,零碳幼儿园全年累计热负荷指标为61.60 kW·h/m~2,全年累计冷负荷指标为75.99 kW·h/m~2,采暖季热负荷指标为18.36 W/m~2,空调季冷负荷指标为25.76 W/m~2;不同影响因素对建筑热负荷的影响程度从大到小依次为外墙传热系数>人员密度>设备功率>屋顶传热系数,对建筑冷负荷影响程度从大到小依次为人员密度>设备功率>外墙传热系数>屋顶传热系数。零碳建筑技术路线的运用对于降低建筑能耗、实现建筑零碳目标具有重要意义。     

Food aid and food policy in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has now replaced India as the most publicized large scale recipient of food aid, importing 1.67 million tons of food grains, four fifths of which were on concessional terms, in 1977/78 (July to June). Some analysts, extrapolating from the poor performance of the agricultural sector up to the mid 1970s, also project that Bangladesh will be one of the largest importers of foodgrains in a decade's time merely in order to maintain current pitifully inadequate levels of nutrition.¹ Yet so far there has been no open debate or systematic attempt to analyse the impact of food aid on the Bangladesh economy, compared with the controversy and intensive analysis of food aid to India. This article² is intended to demonstrate the seriousness of this gap in the literature. It includes a review of provisional evidence on the role of food aid in the Bangladesh economy during the first quinquennium of ‘planned’ development, 1972/3–1977/8.     

Farm costs and food miles: An assessment of the full cost of the UK weekly food basket

Changes in both farm production and food transport have resulted in the imposition of new levels of environmental costs. This study analyses the full costs of foods in the average weekly UK food basket by calculating the costs arising at different stages from farms to consumers’ plates. Of the 12 commodities assessed, livestock produce contributes the most costs per kg. The external cost of UK agriculture up to the farm gate is estimated to be £1.51 bn yr⁻¹; it is calculated that a switch to organic production could lead to avoided costs of £1.13 bn yr⁻¹. Agricultural and food produce accounts for 28% of goods transported on UK roads, currently imposing estimated external costs of £2.35 bn yr⁻¹. The contribution made by sea and air transport is currently trivial owing to low volumes. However, road transport to carry food from the shop to home is estimated to impose a further £1.28 bn yr⁻¹ to total external costs. Subsidies not targeted at environmental improvements cost consumers £2.88 bn yr⁻¹. Thus the real cost of the per capita UK food basket (£24.79) is calculated to be £2.91 more per person wk⁻¹ (11.8%) if externalities and subsidies are included, with farm externalities (81 p), domestic road transport (76 p), government subsidies (93 p) and shopping transport (41 p) contributing the most. We assess a variety of scenarios for adoption of organic farming, localised food systems and sustainable transport to indicate the substantial potential to reduce environmental costs in the UK food system.     

European dietary patterns and their associated land use: Variation between and within countries

This paper determines the cropland use associated with the dietary patterns of 16 European countries and investigates sources of variation in land use between and within these countries. The analysis combines food availability data at the household level with country-specific land use data for food items. The household food availability data is obtained from a standardized and post-harmonized databank, developed in the Data Food Networking Project (DAFNE). The results show large differences between the land use of the 16 European countries, ranging from ±1500 m² (Ireland) to ±3000 m² (Malta) to supply an average person’s food demand. Major reasons for this divergence include disparities in total caloric food availability and in national yields. The composition of the diet is only a minor source of variation. Using food consumption data at the household level makes it also possible to look for sources of variation within countries. This paper investigates sources of variation within countries by examining the influence of education of the household head on land use associated with food consumption. The analysis shows that diets of people with only elementary education need on average 20% more land than diets of people with a higher education (2302 m² and 1948 m², respectively). The basis of this difference is the higher caloric availability for people with only an elementary education; the influence of differences in the composition of the diet is negligible. Variation in land use between countries is thus caused by the different agricultural productivities and caloric availabilities, and the major source of variation within countries is the caloric availability. The composition of the diet is only a minor source of variation, both between and within countries. The results implicate that highly educated people have a lower demand for land.     

Communicating equally

Round Table on Telecommunications and Equality, organized by the Institute for Economic and Social Research into Telecommunications (IREST),¹Paris, France, 25 June 1979     

Flexibility, Structuration, and Simultaneity in New Product Development

A large body of research has pointed out the need for a contingent approach in the design of new product development processes, highlighting the risk of simply accepting a normative perspective that leads to the identification and diffusion of decontextualized “best practices.” In the literature there are contrasting views regarding the identification of the characteristics of product innovation processes in extremely uncertain and dynamic conditions. Some studies propose a fascinating dichotomy: the contraposition between flexible processes and Stage‐Gate^® processes. They maintain that Stage‐Gate^® processes are characterized by “early and sharp” product definition and clear separation between concept development and implementation (detail design and production ramp‐up), whereas flexible development models seek to delay the concept freeze point and overlap product development stages going beyond concurrent engineering. Other studies have arrived at seemingly conflicting results; the suitability of the early and sharp product definition approach in turbulent environments is debated without supporting the dichotomy between flexible processes and Stage‐Gate^® processes. Moreover, additional reasons for questioning the contraposition between Stage‐Gate^® and flexible processes come from a series of studies on the management of discontinuous innovation. The aim of the present study was to develop a conceptual framework that can overcome this widely accepted but controversial dichotomy. The framework is based on the recognition of the orthogonality among three analytical dimensions: organizational, informational, and temporal. The organizational dimension refers to the structuration of the process. The informational dimension deals with classifying the development activities and investigating the firm's product definition approach (early and sharp mode vs. late freeze mode). The temporal dimension relates to the execution strategies of development tasks. The three‐dimensional framework enables us to better understand the complex relationships between the degree of structuration in process design (organizational dimension), the degree of intersection between problem‐formulation and problem‐solving in product definition (informational dimension), and different types of execution strategies (temporal dimension).     

电网谐波下并网逆变器功率脉动抑制策略

电网电压中常含有一定的5次、7次谐波,导致并网逆变器输出功率产生6倍频脉动。为提高并网逆变器的运行性能,采用了一种基于谐振调节器的直接功率脉动控制策略,以实现并网逆变器输出有功功率和无功功率无波动的目的。基于瞬时功率理论,通过改变注入系统的有功和无功电流分量,结合谐振控制器抑制功率振荡。改进后的系统工作时无需获取谐波电流与电压的正负序分量,简单实用。基于1kW光伏并网逆变器实验平台对控制策略进行验证,实验结果表明,此控制策略能有效提高光伏并网逆变器的系统动态和稳态性能。     

Modified Stage‐Gate® Regimes in New Product Development*

The purpose of this research was to explore the nature of the Stage‐Gate^®process in the context of innovative projects that not only vary in new product technology (i.e., radical versus incremental technology) but that also involve significant new product development technology (i.e., new virtual teaming hardware‐software systems). Results indicate that firms modify their formal development regimes to improve the efficiency of this process while not significantly sacrificing product novelty (i.e., the degree to which new technology is incorporated in the new offering). Four hypotheses were developed and probed using 72 automotive engineering managers involved in supervision of the new product development process. There was substantial evidence to creatively replicate results from previous benchmarking studies; for example, 48.6% of respondents say their companies used a traditional Stage‐Gate^®process, and 60% of these new products were considered to be a commercial success. About a third of respondents said their companies are now using a modified Stage‐Gate^®process for new product development. Auto companies that have modified their Stage‐Gate^®procedures are also significantly more likely to report (1) use of virtual teams; (2) adoption of collaborative and virtual new product development software supporting tools; (3) having formalized strategies in place specifically to guide the new product development process; and (4) having adopted structured processes used to guide the new product development process. It was found that the most significant difference in use of phases or gates in the new product development process with radical new technology occurs when informal and formal phasing processes are compared, with normal Stage‐Gate^®usage scoring highest for technology departures in new products. Modified Stage‐Gate^®had a significant, indirect impact on organizational effectiveness. These findings, taken together, suggest companies optimize trade‐offs between cost and quality after they graduate from more typical stage‐process management to modified regimes. Implications for future research and management of this challenging process are discussed. In general, it was found that the long‐standing goal of 50% reduction in product development time without sacrificing other development goals (e.g., quality, novelty) is finally within practical reach of many firms. Innovative firms are not just those with new products but also those that can modify their formal development process to accelerate change.     

The new need: Nutrition-oriented food policies

Inadequate nutrition results in human and economic waste. In developing societies, substantial deaths are thought to be malnutrition-related, and large proportions of the populations live with the negative effeets that inadequate diet and related illness have on learning, work capacity, behaviour and well-being. ' The nutritional state of the populace both influences and reflects the level and pace of national development.²     

USING SPREADSHEET FUNCTIONS TO COMPUTE ARITHMETIC GRADIENTS

Computerized spreadsheets are quite useful in engineering economy. However, (he leading spreadsheet packages do not include functions for arithmetic gradients, although add-in packages may contain such functions. Spreadsheet functions which do not exist can be adapted to calculations of arithmetic gradients, as shown in this technical note. This technical note also briefly summarizes the financial functions available in three leading packages: Excel^tm, Lotus^tm, and Quattro Pro^tm.     

SAM — a baby with many faces

In the last issue of Food Policy, two articles appeared on the subject of the Mexican Food System, or the Sistema Alimenticio Mexicano (SAM). The first article by Frank Meissner¹ reviewed the background to SAM, the proposed strategies, intended targets, its funding and put forward a strong case for considering SAM as a constructive policy for alleviating Mexico's food and nutrition problems. However, Michael Redclift commented in his article that:² ‘There are three principal points to be made of Dr Meissner's article: its interpretation of Mexico's recent agrarian development is questionable; it does not distinguish between the analysis provided in the SAM documents and the policy measures to which they give rise; and, it glosses over serious problems of implementation, giving too little weight to the participatory element without which SAM is doomed to failure’. This rejoinder is Frank Meissner's response to Michael Redclift's comments.     

Computer assisted learning

The UK's National Development Programme in Computer Assisted Learning (NDPCAL), designed to further the adoption of CAL ‘on a regular institutional basis at reasonable cost’, has been completed. Richard Hooper,¹ Director of the Programme, presented its Final Report in 1977. The contents of the Report, as well as the goals of the programme, are discussed below.     

Wheat in the world food economy: Increasing role in developing countries

Wheat is the oldest and most important of the cereal grains in world food supply. In the last two decades the role of wheat in the world food economy has increased substantially, especially in the developing world. This article describes and analyses the role of wheat and highlights and interprets changes that have occurred in the last two decades of rapid change. The authors analyse, in turn, trends in production, consumption, trade and prices with special emphasis on the developing countries.¹ Finally, the authors speculate on how these trends are likely to be effected by future events.     

滏阳河邯郸段CODCr降解系数研究

降解系数的确定是水环境容量核算的关键因素。通过现场水团追踪实验,采用一维稳态水质模型进行参数率定;同时进行了室内模拟研究,运用最小二乘法进行回归计算,综合考虑2种方法测定结果,得到滏阳河邯郸段枯水期CODCr降解系数为0.152~0.270d-1;平水期CODCr降解系数为0.209~0.384d-1;丰水期CODCr降解系数为0.215~0.437d-1。     

Telecommunications policy: The medium is the message

Reflecting on his involvement with Telecommunications Policy, since 1979, this article by one of its first editors Colin Blackman, contributes to the 40^th anniversary issue. It describes the launch of the journal, the unique nature of its publisher, IPC Science & Technology Press, the way in which the field has changed over the past four decades, and makes some personal observations about the changing nature of the world of journal publishing.     

Food,peace — and the pursuit of arms

‘Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in a final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed from those who are cold and are not clothed.’ So said President Eisenhower 20 years ago. ¹ Today the world spends over $350 000 million a year on military and armaments — money lost to world development     

European mediamatics policies: Coping with convergence and globalization

Growing convergence and globalization in the communications sector towards a changed societal communications system, which can be described as mediamatics¹ (media, telematics), poses far-reaching challenges to policy makers worldwide. This article provides an overview of convergence strategies in Europe, puts it in the context of related initiatives, and highlights the partially hidden power politics of convergence, which, alongside arguments on the functional level, forms a crucial factor in national and supranational developments.     

3T0R类圆钢端面贴标混联机构构型优选

为保证用于圆钢端面贴标的工业机器人的设计质量,根据成捆圆钢端面贴标的工程应用场景,采用模糊综合评价法及层次分析法对尺度不确定的候选机构进行比较优选。以备选方案为基础建立模糊综合评价决策集,分析贴标工作及机构学相关知识,建立模糊综合评价因素集,比较各因素的重要性程度建立评价指标权重集,依据层次分析法对各评价指标建立模糊评判矩阵,由权重集及评判矩阵得到模糊决策集并对各方案进行排序优选,综合评价结果为RRP4RR RRRP4RRRRRRR。圆钢端面贴标混联机构可采用RRP4RR并联机构串接RR串联机构,所应用的模糊综合评价法可为贴标机构构型的优选提供决策依据。     

Aid for developmentally disabled

The Institute for the Future is engaged in a project to explore effective and affordable uses of telecommunications systems to benefit developmentally disabled children and adults. The two-year study, funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration of the US Department of Helath, Education and Welfare, began on 1 October 1978 under the overall leadership of the Alternate Media Center at New York Univerity. The Pediatric Service of Roosevelt Hospital in New York City and the American Association of University Affiliated Programs¹ in Washington DC make up the rest of the project team.