Review: Food loss and waste in Sub-Saharan Africa

The research, development practitioner, and donor community has begun to focus on food loss and waste – often referred to as post-harvest losses (PHL) – in Sub-Saharan Africa. This article reviews the current state of the literature on PHL mitigation. First, we identify explicitly the varied objectives underlying efforts to reduce PHL levels. Second, we summarize the estimated magnitudes of losses, evaluate the methodologies used to generate those estimates, and explore the dearth of thoughtful assessment around “optimal” PHL levels. Third, we synthesize and critique the impact evaluation literature around on-farm and off-farm interventions expected to deliver PHL reduction. Fourth, we suggest a suite of other approaches to advancing these same objectives, some of which may prove more cost-effective. Finally, we conclude with a summary of main points.     

Design of sustainable supply chains under the emission trading scheme

Increase in environmental concerns together with legislations are forcing industries to take a fresh look at the impact of their supply chain operations on the environment. This paper introduces a mixed-integer linear programming based framework for sustainable supply chain design that considers life cycle assessment (LCA) principles in addition to the traditional material balance constraints at each node in the supply chain. Indeed, the framework distinguishes between solid and liquid wastes, as well as gaseous emissions due to various production processes and transportation systems. The framework is used to evaluate the tradeoffs between economic and environmental objectives under various cost and operating strategies in the aluminum industry. The results suggest that current legislation and Emission Trading Schemes (ETS) must be strengthened and harmonized at the global level in order to drive a meaningful environmental strategy. Moreover, the model demonstrates that efficient carbon management strategies will help decision makers to achieve sustainability objectives in a cost-effective manner.     

Household food security in semi-arid Africa—the contribution of participatory adaptive research and development to rural livelihoods in Eastern Kenya

The already precarious household food-security situation in many semi-arid areas of Africa may be rendered more so through the implementation of structural adjustment programmes that frequently prescribe austerity measures, along with a safety net to protect the vulnerable. However, longer-term development policy perspectives on the one hand, and shorter-term food-relief considerations on the other, often conflict. This paper illuminates the policy conflicts which arise when local-level research and development initiatives interface with the effects of macro-policy-initiated changes and safety-net interventions. Using a participatory agricultural research project in Eastern Kenya as a case study, the paper describes specific household food-security problem diagnosis and a range of research interventions planned within a more sustainable rural livelihoods framework. Working with local farmers, the project implemented a range of applied research and linked development interventions that showed promise in easing food security through a broadening of the livelihood base. Some of these initiatives were carried further through the local farmers' own initiative. The conclusion is that semi-arid areas, despite views that see these as low-potential and obvious safety-net candidates, often have potential for agricultural intensification and increased productivity. However, to ensure that research results are utilised and farmers have access to new technology and markets, there is a need for external or public-sector support to integrated longer-term development initiatives. This may require rethinking the scope of research and development approaches, particularly removing unhelpful boundaries between research, extension and development functions, and increasing farmer participation in the whole process—if possible as part of a less centralised and more household-oriented approach to food-security policy and strategy.     

Interventions in agriculture for nutrition outcomes: A systematic review focused on South Asia

Research on the potential impact of interventions in agriculture on nutrition outcomes is of particular relevance in South Asia where agriculture-related activities are a major source of livelihoods for large sections of society and where the population suffers from one of the highest global burdens of malnutrition in all its forms. This systematic review aims to assess the strength of the available evidence that agricultural interventions have an impact on intermediate and final nutrition outcomes in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan. We searched five literature databases and reference lists of previous systematic reviews to identify peer-reviewed studies published between 2012 and 2017, detailing impacts of household- or farm-level agricultural interventions on nutritional outcomes in South Asia. We identified six intervention studies (reported in nine papers) conducted in Bangladesh (two studies), India (two studies) and Nepal (two studies). The majority of studies examined the impact of provision of seed, plants and training to increase home garden fruit and vegetable production with or without integrated poultry provision and training. Other studies evaluated the impact of livestock or aquaculture provision and training. Study designs and quality were mixed; heterogeneity across studies precluded formal meta-analysis. Interventions had a positive impact on intermediate outcomes on the pathway from agricultural intervention to nutritional or health status including dietary quality and dietary diversity of households and individuals (reported in seven papers). The evidence on the impact on final nutritional outcomes was mixed: one paper reported that home gardens with poultry reduced the odds of anaemia but there was no convincing evidence of an impact of agricultural interventions on child anthropometric measurement (reported in four papers). In recent years, the Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia (LANSA) research programme consortium has significantly expanded research on agricultural interventions for nutrition outcomes by conducting and commissioning a suite of formative and feasibility studies that have extended both the range and geographic location of interventions under study. This expanding body of research should, in the future, enable the identification of cost-effective interventions to enhance the impact of agricultural interventions sustainably to improve nutrition outcomes especially in women and children in South Asia.     

Assessing the long-term impact of a metacognitive approach to creative skill development

The goal of this research was to determine the long-term impact that selected instructional interventions, based on research in metacognition and learning theory, have on students’ creativity. The study builds off research that has been conducted documenting the impact of creative thinking based instructional interventions. The study tracked design students beginning their freshman year to determine if observed improvements have been maintained throughout 4 years of undergraduate study. Preliminary research statistically tested the introduction of structured metacognitive skills on the development of creative thinking ability for a diverse population of undergraduate design students. This research indicated that an approach to education influenced by research in learning theory and metacognition does, in the short-term, result in students who are more creative. By continuing testing throughout students’ education an equally important question was answered. To what degree do students maintain or improve this level of enhanced creative thinking ability over an extended period of time? The findings showed that students who participated in one or both interventions finished with significantly higher levels of creative thinking. The knowledge gained also demonstrated how newly structured educational interventions utilizing online blogs and other Internet based technologies were successful in enhancing and maintaining students’ creative thinking abilities. The goal was to provide educators with insight and guidance in the application of a metacognitive approach and to introduce available technologies to aid in this process. This study provides educators with a plan of action consisting of a toolbox of creative strategies and a framework for a reflective approach.     

Are African households (not) leaving agriculture? Patterns of households’ income sources in rural Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper uses comparable income aggregates from 41 national household surveys from 22 countries to explore the patterns of income generation among rural households in Sub-Saharan Africa, and to compare household income strategies in Sub-Saharan Africa with those in other regions. The paper seeks to understand how geography drives these strategies, focusing on the role of agricultural potential and distance to urban areas. Specialization in on-farm activities continues to be the norm in rural Africa, practiced by 52 percent of households (as opposed to 21 percent of households in other regions). Regardless of distance and integration in the urban context, when agro-climatic conditions are favorable, farming remains the occupation of choice for most households in the African countries for which the study has geographically explicit information. However, the paper finds no evidence that African households are on a different trajectory than households in other regions in terms of transitioning to non-agricultural based income strategies.     

B2B analytics in the airline market: Harnessing the power of consumer big data

This paper utilizes market-level data to explore the relative performance of individual companies amongst defined competitors. We show the potential of using consumer clickstream data, an important type of big data, to create a new set of B2B analytical frameworks. In the markets where complex interactions between competitors, search intermediaries and consumers create a network, B2B relationships can be inferred from consumer search patterns, and can then be modeled to gauge the online performance. A commercial dataset from ComScore’s US panel of one million users is used to illustrate a new approach to measure and evaluate the online performance of competitors in the US airline market. The methodology and associated performance framework demonstrate the potential for new forms of market intelligence based on the visualization of market networks, online performance calculated from matrix algorithms, the measurement of the impact of search intermediaries, and the identification of latent relationships. This research makes theoretical and empirical contributions to the debate on the use of big data for B2B market analytics. B2B managers can use this approach to extend their network horizon from an egocentric to a network view of competition and map out their competitive landscape from the perspective of the customer.     

Enhancing the EU’s Energy Supply Security—An Evaluation of the Nabucco Project and an Introduction to Its Open Season Capacity Allocation Process

The Russian dominance of the European Union (EU)’s natural gas supplies has put the independence of the EU at risk. This paper presents an evaluation of the Nabucco gas pipeline project—considered by some to be the most economical link to new natural gas sources—to determine whether it would help the EU to diversify its gas supplies in a cost-effective way, thus improving its energy supply security in future years. Furthermore, an introduction to the Nabucco Open Season Capacity Allocation Process is given. Applying empirical methods and competitive pipeline benchmarking analysis, three hypotheses related to the Nabucco natural experiment are evaluated: while hypothesis (1) focuses on the strength of demand for the Nabucco pipeline transportation capacities, hypotheses (2) and (3) examine fair usage rights and overall cost effectiveness of this project. Empirical results show that, due to the EU’s increasing long-term gas demand and decreasing indigenous production, there is a strong demand for the Nabucco gas pipeline by gas shippers. Furthermore, the empirical survey reveals that Nabucco provides a fair capacity allocation of fifty percent to third party shippers. Finally, competitive benchmarking shows Nabucco is indeed a cost-effective new pipeline and a link to fresh natural gas sources for Europe. Based on these results, it is anticipated that “Nabucco” will not only remain the name of a famous opera, but will also become the term associated with one of the most successful energy projects in Europe.     

An epistemological framework for nanoscience and nanotechnology literacy

The need for a new literacy that will allow for meaningful participation in the rapidly evolving field of nanotechnology is very critical to national development. This need is important for nanotechnology to achieve its full potential. This paper describes and analyzes some contemporary philosophical interpretations of the concept of technological literacy. The paper then focuses on some of the metaphysical assumptions underpinning the techno-scientific literacy framework; and theories governing public understanding of science and technology, as the basis to propose a new technological literacy framework suitable in the era of nanotechnology. A case is made that the new technological literacy framework proposed is a suitable and essential pedagogic endeavour which should be seen as yielding a perspective through which meaning may be infused into the importance of nanotechnology development–a perspective as essential to the informed lay person as it is to the truly literate technologist. The paper concludes by analyzing the implications of the proposed epistemological framework on nanotechnology workforce development and makes recommendations based on this new framework to achieve a ‘nanoliterate’ society.     

Towards an integrated framework for managing the process of innovation

Innovation has become a major driving force for business growth and success. However, successful and sustained innovation represents challenges rooted in technological uncertainties, ambiguous market signals and embryonic competitive structures. Notably, in the management of innovation, many challenges still remain in both theory and practice, which demand improved managerial approaches. In this context, the development of a practical and explicit management framework for the process of innovation could be beneficial. This research sets out to develop the concept of ‘Innovation Readiness Levels’ (IRL), an explicit model for managing the process of incremental innovation. Basically, IRL is a framework depicting the development of an innovation over its lifecycle. Within the emerging framework proposed in this paper, five key aspects that determine the effective implementation of innovation are identified. The lifecycle of innovation is then divided into six phases, and for each phase, associated assessment aspects and criteria are identified. By providing better monitoring and control, IRL is intended to help implement innovation over the lifecycle more effectively. It is also expected to apply as a management tool, for which guidance of use is suggested.     

Review: Consumption-stage food waste reduction interventions – What works and how to design better interventions

Food waste prevention has become an issue of international concern, with Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 aiming to halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels by 2030. However there is no review that has considered the effectiveness of interventions aimed at preventing food waste in the consumption stages of the food system. This significant gap, if filled, could help support those working to reduce food waste in the developed world, providing knowledge of what interventions are specifically effective at preventing food waste.This paper fills this gap, identifying and summarizing food-waste prevention interventions at the consumption/consumer stage of the supply chain via a rapid review of global academic literature from 2006 to 2017.We identify 17 applied interventions that claim to have achieved food waste reductions. Of these, 13 quantified food waste reductions. Interventions that changed the size or type of plates were shown to be effective (up to 57% food waste reduction) in hospitality environments. Changing nutritional guidelines in schools were reported to reduce vegetable waste by up to 28%, indicating that healthy diets can be part of food waste reduction strategies. Information campaigns were also shown to be effective with up to 28% food waste reduction in a small sample size intervention.Cooking classes, fridge cameras, food sharing apps, advertising and information sharing were all reported as being effective but with little or no robust evidence provided. This is worrying as all these methods are now being proposed as approaches to reduce food waste and, except for a few studies, there is no reproducible quantified evidence to assure credibility or success. To strengthen current results, a greater number of longitudinal and larger sample size intervention studies are required. To inform future intervention studies, this paper proposes a standardised guideline, which consists of: (1) intervention design; (2) monitoring and measurement; (3) moderation and mediation; (4) reporting; (5) systemic effects.Given the importance of food-waste reduction, the findings of this review highlight a significant evidence gap, meaning that it is difficult to make evidence-based decisions to prevent or reduce consumption-stage food waste in a cost-effective manner.     

Plant variety protection in developing countries. A report from the field

The establishment of intellectual property rights (IPRs) for plant varieties has caused considerable controversy, but there is relatively little empirical evidence on performance and options in developing countries. This paper summarizes the results of a recent five-country study, concentrating on the conduct of plant variety protection (PVP) regimes. It examines PVP in the context of other mechanisms that provide incentives for plant breeding. It discusses the principal options available to developing countries and examines the ability of PVP to offer protection from competing firms and from on-farm seed saving. It also looks at the administrative and management requirements of PVP regimes. Although the paper does not discuss patent protection for biotechnology it examines the IPR requirements for the introduction of transgenic varieties. Developing countries need to establish an appropriate PVP system, but PVP should be seen as part of a broader strategy for seed system development.     

Women’s empowerment boosts the gains in dietary diversity from agricultural technology adoption in rural Kenya

Using new survey data from rural Kenya, this paper assesses the moderating effect of women’s empowerment on the relationship between agricultural technology adoption and women’s dietary diversity. We use a multiple treatment endogenous switching regression framework to control for potential endogeneity of women’s empowerment and technology adoption. We find that women’s empowerment has a positive and significant effect on the women’s dietary diversity score regardless of technology adoption status. We further show that women’s empowerment enhances the positive effects of technology adoption on women’s dietary diversity. Although technology adoption has a positive impact on women’s dietary diversity regardless of empowerment status, its effect is stronger for households with empowered vs. disempowered women. Study results suggest that individual and household welfare could be enhanced to a greater degree through interventions that promote women’s empowerment and technology adoption simultaneously rather than separately.     

Cost-effectiveness of patient-specific motion management strategy in lung cancer radiation therapy planning

Abstract

Cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) in medicine is a form of economic study that compares the relative value of medical technologies and health care services. It helps decision makers to formally evaluate proposed interventions and make informed choices based on the estimated health gains per dollar spent under each intervention. This study employs a CEA framework to assess an emerging imaging technology to determine whether its adoption will be appropriate in routine patient care. A significant challenge in lung cancer radiotherapy (RT) is respiration-induced tumor motion during positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT). Respiratory gating may improve the image quality and delivery of curative doses to tumor. Respiratory-gated PET/CT is especially useful for locally advanced and inoperable non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Due to the heterogeneity in patients’ respiratory patterns, questions remain regarding who will benefit from respiratory gating. The effectiveness of respiratory gating can be measured by using quantitative improvements in PET/CT images. We previously developed a patient-specific motion management (PSMM) paradigm to identify patients who benefited from respiratory-gated PET/CT based on respiratory pattern analysis. This article presents a new CEA framework to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of PSMM compared to the population-based radiation oncology practice of motion management in more than 1,500 cancer patients.     

The response strategies of incumbent mobile network operators on the disruptive potential of public W-LAN in Germany

This paper examines how three incumbent mobile network operators (MNOs) in Germany responded in terms of their strategy to the emergence of the wireless local area network (W-LAN) technology and how they interpreted this potentially disruptive technology in their own strategic context. Additionally, prior empirical results and forecasts on the limited disruptive potential of W-LAN for the German MNOs lacked persuasive firm-level evidence to distinguish the real reason for the presented observations and analysis. So far it was unclear whether the observations were caused by successful response strategies of incumbent MNOs or by the inherent limited disruptive potential of the W-LAN technology. For this purpose case studies of three major MNOs in Germany were performed to assess and compare their respective response strategies. Using the theoretical framework of disruptive technology, the results were evaluated in a cross-case analysis to study how these firms interpreted and reacted to the potential disruptiveness of W-LAN. The results indicate significant differences for the respective MNOs between their perception of W-LAN as a potential disruptive technology, their strategic development processes inside the organisation to understand the potential impact of W-LAN on their respective business model, and to enforce an appropriate response strategy and structural implementation. This incumbent heterogeneity depends primarily on their idiosyncratic strategic and structural context. These findings reveal that the incumbent MNOs in Germany were aware of the disruptive technology concept but did not react in a theory-conform way. However, since W-LAN had a sustaining impact on the MNOs and their response strategies followed sustaining reaction patterns, earlier studies, which show a limited disruptive potential of W-LAN for the German MNOs, are supported.     

哈萨克斯坦石油工程服务环境及对策探讨

哈萨克斯坦石油工程服务市场前景广阔、潜力巨大,但由于哈国政策、法规环境变化和调整较大,包括中国企业在内的在哈外资石油工程服务公司面临较大挑战。作者基于哈国实际工作经验,对影响中资石油工程公司业务的哈国法律、国家行政管理、商务和自然环境条件进行了分析,重点介绍了哈国新《税法典》、新《资源行业采办规定》、《地下资源法》和劳工许可规定及其给中资石油工程服务公司带来的影响,并结合当前最新变化,对中资石油工程服务公司在哈国开展业务提出对策建议。     

Collective action for small-scale producers of agricultural biodiversity products

The role of well-functioning markets for development is now widely recognized. However the challenge remains to make these markets benefit the poor and the environment. Increasing attention is being given to the potential role markets can play for agrobiodiversity conservation through product diversification and increasing competitiveness in niche and novelty markets. Several case studies were undertaken that explore the use of market-based approaches to on-farm agrobiodiversity management and livelihood improvement. This paper explores how the theory of collective action can provide a more synthetic understanding of how market chains operate, and the changes that could permit a more equitable distribution of benefits. The case studies illustrate the need for improved trust, mutual understanding of each actor’s involvement, and an agreed process of collective action with a high level of community participation. The cases differ in their degree of collective action, the level of market organization and the ways in which handling, processing, and innovative marketing add value to the agrobiodiversity products. Comparative analysis identified a range of situations in which market development can support agrobiodiversity conservation and livelihoods.     

The making of public investments: The role of champions,co-ordination,and characteristics of nutrition programmes in Mozambique

This study examines governance and institutional factors that influence how public resources are allocated for nutrition interventions in the context of a developing country—Mozambique—with very high rates of malnutrition. Based on qualitative empirical analysis building on a political economy framework, we explore the importance of two agent-centred and two investment-centred factors that determine how decisions on budget allocation to nutrition are made. The analysis finds that public decisionmakers strongly favour highly visible nutrition investments and those with a short duration between the time that spending is incurred and outcomes or outputs are achieved. Co-ordination has been quite successful among donors, and mainly of a spatial nature. Co-ordination is significantly weaker among government agencies, given the absence of fiscal tools of the co-ordinating agency, and its placement in a sector ministry rather than at a supra-sectoral level. Champions as change agents have had a truly influential role in attracting more funding to nutrition and improving its allocation. But their influence is also fleeting and difficult to sustain.     

The allocation of R&D resource

Abstract
The allocation of R&D resource in a multi-business organisation is often based more on current operating performance than on the relative potential for technological development of the businesses. The approach suggested in this paper attempts to overcome these problems by linking R&D allocation very closely to business strategy. The two key concepts are technology leverage, i.e. the extent to which technology can change the business environment in an industry to yield competitive advantage, and business leverage i.e. the current competitive strength of an individual business within an industry. Where technology leverage is weak, competitive advantage will be mainly dependent on factors other than R&D and it is suggested that levels of R&D effort at or below 1 % of turnover are appropriate. Where technology leverage is strong, R&D can be effective in maintaining strong business leverage by achieving technology mastery or in transforming a weak business position by creating a technological discontinuity. R&D intensities ranging from 3 to 15 or more % of turnover are thought to be appropriate in these cases. This framework can be used for policy debates on R&D allocation, for example whether the R&D allocation is appropriate for the business strategy or whether R&D could spearhead a more expansionist business strategy. The framework has been successfully used in ICI Chemicals and Polymers Limited during the annual R&D budget process.     

Integrating Knowledge and Knowledge Processes: A Critical Incident Study of Product Development Projects

Various scholars have argued that knowledge processes in organizations are integrally linked in practice. The extant literature though treats them separately and thereby disregards the interactions and tensions between them. A result of this way of studying knowledge processes is that little is known about their relative importance and how they work together. This paper addresses this gap in the literature through a critical incident study of knowledge processes in product development projects of high‐tech small firms. The paper starts off with a conceptual framework comprised of four knowledge processes—knowledge creation, knowledge application, knowledge integration, and knowledge retention—and their interactions. From the framework, three hypotheses are derived concerning the importance of these types of knowledge processes and their interactions, which in turn guide the empirical research. The hypotheses were tested in a retrospective study of 58 critical incidents in product development projects of 16 high‐tech small firms in the Netherlands. Data were collected through semi‐structured interviews using the critical incident interviewing technique. Interviewees were asked to “relive” and describe particular successful and unsuccessful examples of product development projects in the past. The analysis of the interview data focused upon whether there are differences between successful and unsuccessful projects in the types of knowledge processes and interactions that are performed. After coding all data into the various types of knowledge processes and interactions of the framework, t‐tests were used to test for significance of differences. The findings indicate that the difference between success and failure in these projects lies primarily in the extent to which knowledge integration and integration between knowledge processes have taken place. These findings demonstrate that, of the four knowledge processes, knowledge integration had the most significant impact on product development project success. The study demonstrates furthermore that higher degrees of interactions between knowledge processes were also associated with project success. Despite the limitations of this study, these results provide empirical support for the claim that integration is a key factor in organizations in general and in innovation projects in particular. For academics, this suggests further research on knowledge integration, and integration between knowledge processes, is warranted. For practitioners, it means that integration is a key process to be considered when choosing and executing new product development projects.