Chapter 5 - The Asset versus Expense Debate

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a very important food crop because the result is used as a staple food for residents in Indonesia. Higher food fulfillment leads to the increase of rice production of the Mojogedang sub-district. Paddy fields that have high soil fertility will produce good rice productivity. Rice fields in Mojogedang Sub-district are managed with organic systems and conventional systems, the management of different fields of rice field certainly affects the level of fertility in the paddy fields so it is necessary to evaluate the soil fertility index. The survey area consists of 10 points with organic and conventional management systems. The parameters taken include chemical and biological properties of soil, including; pH, redox potential, C-organic, CEC, base saturation, P available, available K, N Total, C/N ratio, and total microbial. The data obtained by performed analysis of the main component principal component analysis (PCA) using statistical applications. Then after complete the calculation of The Soil Fertility Index (SFI) at each point and management system. The results of statistical analysis obtained soil Fertility Index on organic management systems have a class of 4 or very high and in conventional management systems have a class of 3 or High. The value of the index obtained is strongly influenced by the K indicator available where the indicator has a noticeable effect on the various management systems. Increased soil fertility index due to the use of manure that can improve plant nutrients and applied for long periods.

Abstract: The quality of seeds produced is the result of the management practices used and environmental conditions during growing. The aim of this study was to evaluate the physiological potential and the health of soybean seeds produced in an organic and conventional system. The genotypes UEL 110 and 122 and BRS 257 and 284 were tested in organic and conventional systems in a randomized block design. The following characteristics were evaluated: moisture content; thousand seed weight (TSW); germination (G) and first count of germination (FCG); tetrazolium (TZ); classification, length, and dry matter of seedlings; and seed health. Analysis of variance was performed separately for the management systems, followed by combined analysis. When significant, the Tukey test (p<0.05) was applied. Multivariate analysis was performed using R software. There was not significance between genotypes and management systems. The conventional management system performed positively for the characteristics TSW, G, TZ, FCG, classification, and length and dry matter of seedling roots, as well as for plant health. The UEL genotypes obtained higher TSW; UEL 110, lower germination; and BRS 257, a smaller number of ungerminated seeds and higher infestation by Cladosporium spp. The seeds produced under the organic system have greater weight and lower infestation by contaminants, whereas the conventional system produces seeds of better physiological quality and lower contamination by Phomopsis and bacteria. The genotype BRS 257 may have seeds multiplied in the organic and conventional management systems.

The purpose of this study is to make a technological and financial forecast for the future construction of similar facilities based on feasibility data from the Istanbul Domestic Waste Incineration and Energy Production Facility, which was constructed to minimize environmental damage and give domestic solid wastes economic value, as opposed to storing and disposing of them. The study examined the initial investment and operating costs of the facility, the repayment time and profitability calculations, the financial and economic profitability of the project, and the cost and internal profitability rates for other waste disposal facilities to be established, in addition to comparisons with conventional waste management systems (storage or composting) and incineration techniques. By separating themselves as much as possible from conventional waste management systems, systems employing technological methods will be more realistic and cost-effective, both financially and in terms of the environment. To meet rising energy demands and lessen reliance on foreign sources, investments in sustainable renewable energy systems other than fossil fuels must be increased now. It is crucial to accelerate and support investments in environmentally friendly energy technologies through their development. This is the first study conducted in Turkey on obtaining energy by burning domestic solid waste as opposed to storing it.

Nelson, A. G., Quideau, S., Frick, B., Niziol, D., Clapperton, J. and Spaner, D. 2011. Spring wheat genotypes differentially alter soil microbial communities and wheat breadmaking quality in organic and conventional systems. Can. J. Plant Sci. 91: 485–495. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars may have differential effects on soil microbial communities and the breadmaking quality of harvested grain. We conducted a field study comparing five Canadian spring wheat cultivars grown under organic and conventional management systems for yield, breadmaking quality and soil phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profile. Organic yields (2.74 t ha−1) were roughly half of conventional yields (5.02 t ha−1), but protein levels were higher in the organic system than the conventional system (16.6 vs. 15.3%, respectively). Soil microbial diversity measures were significantly higher in the organic system compared with the conventional system, including PLFA richness (31 vs. 27 unique PLFAs per sample, respectively) and PLFA div...

Fantastic yields in the system of rice intensification: fact or fallacy?

Intensification and diversification of pasturelands in Brazil: Patterns and driving factors in the soil carbon stocks

Soybean (Glycine max) is an important leguminous crop that is grown throughout the United States and around the world. In 2016, soybean was valued at $41 billion USD in the United States alone. Increasingly, soybean farmers are adopting alternative management strategies to improve the sustainability and profitability of their crop. Various benefits have been demonstrated for alternative management systems, but their effects on soybean-associated microbial communities are not well-understood. In order to better understand the impact of crop management systems on the soybean-associated microbiome, we employed DNA amplicon sequencing of the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region and 16S rRNA genes to analyze fungal and prokaryotic communities associated with soil, roots, stems, and leaves. Soybean plants were sampled from replicated fields under long-term conventional, no-till, and organic management systems at three time points throughout the growing season. Results indicated that sample origin was the main driver of beta diversity in soybean-associated microbial communities, but management regime and plant growth stage were also significant factors. Similarly, differences in alpha diversity are driven by compartment and sample origin. Overall, the organic management system had lower fungal and bacterial Shannon diversity. In prokaryotic communities, aboveground tissues were dominated by Sphingomonas and Methylobacterium while belowground samples were dominated by Bradyrhizobium and Sphingomonas. Aboveground fungal communities were dominated by Davidiella across all management systems, while belowground samples were dominated by Fusarium and Mortierella. Specific taxa including potential plant beneficials such as Mortierella were indicator species of the conventional and organic management systems. No-till management increased the abundance of groups known to contain plant beneficial organisms such as Bradyrhizobium and Glomeromycotina. Network analyses show different highly connected hub taxa were present in each management system. Overall, this research demonstrates how specific long-term cropping management systems alter microbial communities and how those communities change throughout the growth of soybean.

In order to increase cotton productivity and optimize fiber quality on limited arable land, an integrated crop management system (ICMS), which combined with some optimal management practices, is projected to replace the conventional crop management system (CCMS) for cotton production in the Yangtze River valley. The seedcotton yield and fiber quality with respect to fruiting position under ICMS and CCMS were investigated in 2012 and 2013 in two fields differing in soil fertility. Reduced bolls on fruiting branches 1–10 (FB1−10) and at fruiting position 1–2 (FP1−2) on FB11−15 could not be fully compensated by increased bolls on FB16+ under CCMS, resulting in more seedcotton yield under ICMS relative to that under CCMS. Fiber at majority fruiting positions under CCMS were longer and stronger than those under ICMS, but CCMS increased the contribution of bolls on FB11+ to the cotton yield, which overall resulted in no significant change in fiber length and strength by management system at field level. The number of bolls at FP1−2 on FB1−5 under CCMS while the number of bolls on FB1−5 and at FP1−2 on FB1−5 were not significantly changed by soil fertility, resulting in diminished yield difference in soil fertility among ICMS relative to that of CCMS. The high soil fertility significantly increased seedcotton yield relative to low soil fertility, which was attributed to more number of bolls on FB11+ and higher seedcotton weight per boll at all fruiting positions. High soil fertility field not only recorded superior fiber quality on FB11+, but also increased the contribution of these bolls to the cotton yield relative to those in the low soil fertility field, resulting in no significant change in overall fiber quality among soil fertility. These findings demonstrate that by combining optimal management practices on infertile soils ICMS could minimize the yield differences due to soil fertility without sacrificing fiber quality.

Honey bee colony management is critical to mitigating the negative effects of biotic and abiotic stressors. However, there is significant variation in the practices implemented by beekeepers, which results in varying management systems. This longitudinal study incorporated a systems approach to experimentally test the role of three representative beekeeping management systems (conventional, organic, and chemical-free) on the health and productivity of stationary honey-producing colonies over 3 years. We found that the survival rates for colonies in the conventional and organic management systems were equivalent, but around 2.8 times greater than the survival under chemical-free management. Honey production was also similar, with 102% and 119% more honey produced in conventional and organic management systems, respectively, than in the chemical-free management system. We also report significant differences in biomarkers of health including pathogen levels (DWV, IAPV, Vairimorpha apis, Vairimorpha ceranae) and gene expression (def-1, hym, nkd, vg). Our results experimentally demonstrate that beekeeping management practices are key drivers of survival and productivity of managed honey bee colonies. More importantly, we found that the organic management system—which uses organic-approved chemicals for mite control—supports healthy and productive colonies, and can be incorporated as a sustainable approach for stationary honey-producing beekeeping operations.

The uncertain and devastating outcomes of natural disasters require pre-planning and timely coordination to reduce human and economic loss. While predictive capabilities remain limited - especially in the event of earthquakes, significant research efforts have been made towards increasing the efficiency and preparedness of rescue and relief operations. In this respect, different applications of agent-based modeling exhibits substantial promise for enabling humanitarian committees in terms of better planning and responsiveness in case of a disaster. While the usefulness of more conventional disaster management systems that focus primarily on communication and coordination efforts have a significant role, the ability of agent - based systems to aid decision making under unforeseen circumstances adds a new dimension to the overall effectiveness of such systems. Hence, the following study surveys conventional and agent-based disaster management systems, and aims to determine the performance of both systems

Comparative performance and cost-integrated life cycle assessment of low impact development controls for sustainable stormwater management

While newer and smaller firms, compared to older ones, are seen as unable to acquire enough of the critical resources needed to survive, this research suggests that differential resource accumulation can predict survival or failure after environmental jolts. This research examines the survival or failure of 115 Korean technology-based small and medium ventures after the 1997 Asian financial crisis in Korea. Through analyses, this study found that intangible resources, which include human capital, organisational capital and social capital, were significantly associated with survival. However, tangible resources, which include physical and financial capital, were not associated with survival. These results mean that intangible resources can explain the ability to survive from environmental jolts better than tangible ones, which also imply that intangible resources can perform the role as a buffer to withstand environmental jolts.

The growth of research into ‘born-globals’ (Bell, 1995; Madsen and Servais, 1997) led to research that has expanded our knowledge of early internationalizing SMEs (Jones and Nummela, 2008). The literature has investigated the major drivers of the internationalization process of SMEs and the problems associated with fast growth in international markets (Chetty and Campbell-Hunt, 2003; Sujrez-Ortega, 2003). These drivers include: the role of learning; the transmission of knowledge; the acquisition and development of tangible and intangible resources; the acquiring of competencies and routines; the importance of social and relationship capital in the development of trust-based networks; and a host of industry and country-specific issues (Chetty and Blankenburg, 2000; Loane and Bell, 2006; Ojala, 2009; Zucchella et al., 2007). Many of the major drivers of the internationalization of SMEs embrace factors that are connected to the resource-based view of the internationalization process of SMEs (Westhead and Wright, 2001). There have been many empirical studies of the effects of the key resources that are thought to drive this process on the inter nationalization of SMEs (Andersson et al., 2004; Chetty and Blankenburg, 2000; Coviello and Munro, 1997; Knight et al., 2004). These studies have focused on different types of resource thought to effect the rapid internationalization of SMEs. There are few studies, however, based on large quantitative studies of the effect on performance of such resources.KeywordsInternational BusinessForeign MarketEntry ModeNetwork RelationshipInternational EntrepreneurshipThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

We investigated the effects of leadership and tangible and intangible resources on sustainable competitive advantage. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using the Seventh-day Adventist Church Institutions in Zimbabwe. A questionnaire was administered to 341 respondents. The results of the correlation analysis show that leadership (r = .57; p<.01), tangible resources (r =. 53; p< .0l), and intangible resources (r =. 43; p< .05) significantly correlate with sustainable competitive advantage. Furthermore, the regression analysis showed that all three variables combined had a significant effect on sustainable competitive advantage (adjusted R-square = .359) (F (3, 327) =62.61, p<0.05). Additionally, the analysis shows that leadership (β = .370; p < 0.05) and tangible resources (β = .273; p < 0.05) contributed the most to the institutions’ sustainable competitive advantage. However intangible resources, singly, do not significantly affect the competitive advantage. The results confirm the key role of leadership in creating a competitive advantage in organizations. Thus, the study highlights that without leaders’ willingness and effective engagement, those institutions cannot effectively compete in the marketplace despite the presence of resources.

O objetivo deste artigo é analisar os condicionantes para a atividade exportadora no setor sucroenergético brasileiro. Sete condicionantes foram selecionados: localização, recursos tangíveis, recursos intangíveis, escolhas gerenciais, aprendizagem, agentes externos e contexto externo. A estratégia de pesquisa adotada foi o survey. A amostra não probabilística obtida foi de 84 questionários válidos, coletados entre novembro e dezembro de 2011. Na análise dos dados foram utilizadas medidas e técnicas de estatística descritiva. Evidenciou-se que elementos relacionados aos sete condicionantes selecionados influenciam a atividade exportadora no setor sucroenergético. Em relação à localização, destacam-se o ambiente natural, custos e acesso a insumos, mão de obra, transporte e instituições de apoio. Recursos agrícolas, industriais, financeiros e organizacionais, estilo de liderança, cultura organizacional, reputação, confiança dos agentes externos, redes de relacionamento e o conhecimento sobre o setor foram os principais recursos tangíveis e intangíveis. Nas escolhas gerenciais, destaca-se a atitude proativa diante da intenção de exportar. A análise da aprendizagem reiterou a qualificação do setor pesquisado para atuação no mercado estrangeiro. A ação dos agentes externos, tais como compradores e concorrentes, também é importante para a exportação. Sob a perspectiva do contexto externo, variações cambiais, políticas governamentais e a incerteza ambiental foram fatores determinantes.