title: The evolution of hog production and potential sources for future growth in China

authors: Xiao, Hongbo

subjects: China

abstract: Following reforms to the market, China’s hog industry has developed rapidly, however, with social and economic transitions, China’s hog industry is facing challenges which might restrict long-term growth in production. This paper analyzes the changes in regional scale, organization, input factors, and technological progress for China’s hog production over the last few decades. The paper seeks to reveal the sources of hog production growth and provide some suggestions for future development of the hog industry. To achieve these aims, the paper uses stochastic frontier production functions and the Malmquist index to measure total factor productivity (TFP) in the hog industry and decompose TFP into technical efficiency; technological progress; scale efficiency; and allocative efficiency using data for 25 provinces from 1980 to 2008. The results show firstly that; the TFP of hog production increased by 64.3% from 1980 to 2008, and allocative efficiency and scale efficiency improvements played a key role in this TFP growth. In contrast, technical efficiency and technical progress have changed little over this period. Secondly, TFP’s contribution to output was 39.7%, it being less than that of factor inputs to output. Thirdly, the results suggest that the growth of China’s pork production depends mostly on the increase in the quantity of factor inputs, especially feed. As a consequence, the key to ensuring long-term and stable development of China’s hog production would seem to involve focusing on enhancing total factor productivity and changing the pattern of production growth.

text: The evolution of hog production and potential sources for future growth in China Following reforms to the market, China’s hog industry has developed rapidly, however, with social and economic transitions, China’s hog industry is facing challenges which might restrict long-term growth in production. This paper analyzes the changes in regional scale, organization, input factors, and technological progress for China’s hog production over the last few decades. The paper seeks to reveal the sources of hog production growth and provide some suggestions for future development of the hog industry. To achieve these aims, the paper uses stochastic frontier production functions and the Malmquist index to measure total factor productivity (TFP) in the hog industry and decompose TFP into technical efficiency; technological progress; scale efficiency; and allocative efficiency using data for 25 provinces from 1980 to 2008. The results show firstly that; the TFP of hog production increased by 64.3% from 1980 to 2008, and allocative efficiency and scale efficiency improvements played a key role in this TFP growth. In contrast, technical efficiency and technical progress have changed little over this period. Secondly, TFP’s contribution to output was 39.7%, it being less than that of factor inputs to output. Thirdly, the results suggest that the growth of China’s pork production depends mostly on the increase in the quantity of factor inputs, especially feed. As a consequence, the key to ensuring long-term and stable development of China’s hog production would seem to involve focusing on enhancing total factor productivity and changing the pattern of production growth.

year: 2012

title: Sports and Bodies: An exploration of bodily inscription through the practice of sport

authors: Baker, Tegan

subjects: Sports

abstract: Sport is an integral aspect of contemporary society; it is also a political, economic, educational, religious and scientific activity. The body and embodied experiences are central to the practice of sport. This research is concerned with both the embodied nature of sport and the potential for sport to mirror, and channel, discourses from wider society. Drawing from the fields of sports geography, bodily geography, and relevant literature from sports studies, the notion of bodily inscription through sport is the focus of this report. Data was collected through focus groups containing a range of social and amateur sports-people with additional data gained through analysis of sports and fitness magazines. The theoretical framework used to contextualise this data is that of Henning Eichberg’s sports trialectic and the wider concept of body culture. This allows for the mapping of bodily inscription via the different characteristics of sport associated with branches of the trialectic; achievement, fitness and body experience. The work of Eichberg also adds another dimension to this analysis - the comparison between sport, democracy and varying iterations of society. In particular, neo-liberalism which is evident through the dominance of efficiency, competition and individualism in sport, is a potent presence. Through the connection between the ‘obesity epidemic’ and neo-liberalism, an over-riding theme is body weight; the defining inscription of a sporting body as leanness. The dominance of concerns over body weight prompted a revision of Eichberg’s sports trialectic model in an attempt to encompass the role of neo-liberalism and the absence of the heuristic element of body experience.

text: Sports and Bodies: An exploration of bodily inscription through the practice of sport Sport is an integral aspect of contemporary society; it is also a political, economic, educational, religious and scientific activity. The body and embodied experiences are central to the practice of sport. This research is concerned with both the embodied nature of sport and the potential for sport to mirror, and channel, discourses from wider society. Drawing from the fields of sports geography, bodily geography, and relevant literature from sports studies, the notion of bodily inscription through sport is the focus of this report. Data was collected through focus groups containing a range of social and amateur sports-people with additional data gained through analysis of sports and fitness magazines. The theoretical framework used to contextualise this data is that of Henning Eichberg’s sports trialectic and the wider concept of body culture. This allows for the mapping of bodily inscription via the different characteristics of sport associated with branches of the trialectic; achievement, fitness and body experience. The work of Eichberg also adds another dimension to this analysis - the comparison between sport, democracy and varying iterations of society. In particular, neo-liberalism which is evident through the dominance of efficiency, competition and individualism in sport, is a potent presence. Through the connection between the ‘obesity epidemic’ and neo-liberalism, an over-riding theme is body weight; the defining inscription of a sporting body as leanness. The dominance of concerns over body weight prompted a revision of Eichberg’s sports trialectic model in an attempt to encompass the role of neo-liberalism and the absence of the heuristic element of body experience.

year: 2014

title: Exploring the constitution of environment education as situated, critical processes of learning and change: A collaborative synthesis across diverse regional contexts

authors: Eames, Chris W.

subjects: Critical approaches

abstract: This article offers a set of unique vignettes or stories that attempt to illustrate examples of critical approaches to environmental education (EE) in diverse contexts. It draws from the experiences of five environmental educators in four different regions of the world. We detail the history of the emergence of critical consciousness in education in Brazil, and its application in a Brazilian region, then move to examples of critical educational responses to oppression in New Zealand and Zimbabwe, before closing with a critical examination of innovative teaching and research in Europe. Through this breadth of endeavour, we identify commonalities across these contexts such as the importance of participatory action and research to examine peopleenvironment relations, particularly as constituted by indigenous peoples, and to interpret realities in ways that empower through learning-led social-ecological change. We argue that this critical approach can foster emancipation through individual and collective learning in EE processes within very different contexts.

text: Exploring the constitution of environment education as situated, critical processes of learning and change: A collaborative synthesis across diverse regional contexts This article offers a set of unique vignettes or stories that attempt to illustrate examples of critical approaches to environmental education (EE) in diverse contexts. It draws from the experiences of five environmental educators in four different regions of the world. We detail the history of the emergence of critical consciousness in education in Brazil, and its application in a Brazilian region, then move to examples of critical educational responses to oppression in New Zealand and Zimbabwe, before closing with a critical examination of innovative teaching and research in Europe. Through this breadth of endeavour, we identify commonalities across these contexts such as the importance of participatory action and research to examine peopleenvironment relations, particularly as constituted by indigenous peoples, and to interpret realities in ways that empower through learning-led social-ecological change. We argue that this critical approach can foster emancipation through individual and collective learning in EE processes within very different contexts.

year: 2018