Towards a systemic research methodology in agriculture: Rethinking the role of values in science

The recent drastic developmentof agriculture, together with the growingsocietal interest in agricultural practices andtheir consequences, pose a challenge toagricultural science. There is a need forrethinking the general methodology ofagricultural research. This paper takes somesteps towards developing a systemic researchmethodology that can meet this challenge – ageneral self-reflexive methodology that forms abasis for doing holistic or (with a betterterm) wholeness-oriented research and providesappropriate criteria of scientific quality.From a philosophy of research perspective,science is seen as an interactive learningprocess with both a cognitive and a socialcommunicative aspect. This means, first of all,that science plays a role in the world that itstudies. A science that influences its ownsubject area, such as agricultural science, isnamed a systemic science. From thisperspective, there is a need to reconsider therole of values in science. Science is notobjective in the sense of being value-free.Values play, and ought to play, an importantrole in science – not only in form ofconstitutive values such as the norms of goodscience, but also in the form of contextualvalues that enter into the very process ofscience. This goes against the traditionalcriterion of objectivity. Therefore, reflexive objectivity is suggested as a newcriterion for doing good science, along withthe criterion of relevance. Reflexiveobjectivity implies that the communication ofscience must include the cognitivecontext, which comprises the societal,intentional, and observational context. Inaccordance with this, the learning process ofsystemic research is shown as a self-reflexivecycle that incorporates both an involved actorstance and a detached observer stance. Theobserver stance forms the basis for scientificcommunication.To this point, a unitary view of science asa learning process is employed. A secondimportant perspective for a systemic researchmethodology is the relation between the actual,different, and often quite separate kinds ofscience. Cross-disciplinary research ishampered by the idea that reductive science ismore objective, and hence more scientific, thanthe less reductive sciences of complex subjectareas – and by the opposite idea thatreductive science is necessarilyreductionistic. Taking reflexive objectivity asa demarcator of good science, an inclusiveframework of science can be established. Theframework does not take the establisheddivision between natural, social, and humanscience as a primary distinction of science.The major distinction is made between theempirical and normative aspects of science,corresponding to two key cognitive interests.Two general methodological dimensions, thedegree of reduction of the research world andthe degree of involvement in the researchworld, are shown to span this framework. Theframework can form a basis fortransdisciplinary work by way of showing therelation between more and less reductive kindsof science and between more detached and moreinvolved kinds of science and exposing theabilities and limitations attendant on thesemethodological differences.     

中国农田污染评价与防治道路探究

中国农田污染防控是农业可持续发展、农产品安全和国家生态环境安全的重大需求。中国农田污染的特征为:农田污染物种类增多、污染呈现扩张化、复杂化与不断加剧的趋势,同时,治理的难度不断加大。目前中国农田污染的基本格局是:局部改善,整体恶化,虽然仍是可防治的,但扭转总体态势和治理的难度将进一步加大;区域间、产业间和作物间的差异很大,不能以点盖面;化肥、农药等是一把双刃剑,应客观评价,高效使用。在对七种典型防治思路分析的基础上,本研究针对中国农田污染防控的薄弱环节,提出了走农田污染综合立体防控的道路,实现中国国情背景下农田污染防治和农业可持续发展的双赢的战略构思。     

Developing socioeconomic indicators for fisheries off Alaska: A multi-attribute utility function approach

Ecosystem-based fisheries management requires a holistic assessment of fisheries status that integrates fishery ecosystem indicators for several major objectives such as sustainability, biodiversity, habitat quality, and socioeconomic status. Scientists have already paid much attention to the first three objectives and to the development of their indicators. Although there have been some efforts to develop socioeconomic indicators, relatively less attention has been paid to socioeconomic status and the development of its indicators. In addition, the socioeconomic indicators developed to date are not firmly based on economic theory. We (i) discuss the problems with previous approaches to developing socioeconomic indicators; (ii) present theoretical foundations of a multi-attribute utility function (MAUF) approach in developing socioeconomic indicators; (iii) discuss the issues associated with implementing the MAUF approach for fisheries in Alaska; (iv) present, as an example, several socioeconomic indicators developed using the MAUF approach for a fishery off Alaska; and (v) present results from some sensitivity analyses for the form of utility functions and weights. Future directions are also discussed.     

Managing the grazing landscape: Insights for agricultural adaptation from a mid-drought photo-elicitation study in the Australian sheep-wheat belt

Globally, and under uncertain climate conditions, the agricultural sector will need to feed more people without degrading the ecosystem services on which production depends. Eastern Australia, coming out of a decade of drought, is at the leading edge of this challenge. Measures to adapt agriculture to increasing climate variability are urgently sought. One particularly promising measure is an adaptive grazing decision-making practice called holistic management (HM), typically involving high-intensity, short-duration rotational grazing and the encouragement of pastures with low chemical input needs. Here, we use photo-elicitation to compare the landscape perceptions of HM graziers with those of more conventional graziers, based on their choice of photo targets and the stories those photographs elicited. During that process, HM graziers described their use of adaptive farm management techniques to gain outcomes for production and ecosystems alike, demonstrating a system-based understanding of their farms conducive to farming under increased climate variability. We conclude that HM grazing should be encouraged so as to adapt the industry to climate change. More widespread uptake of HM practices - for public benefit as well as personal - depends on incentives to reduce start-up costs and expand the instruction of HM principles, first targeting those with high adaptive capacity, and removing policies that delay adaptation.     

中国农田污染评价与防治道路探究

中国农田污染防控是农业可持续发展、农产品安全和国家生态环境安全的重大需求。中国农田污染的特征为：农田污染物种类增多、污染呈现扩张化、复杂化与不断加剧的趋势,同时,治理的难度不断加大。目前中国农田污染的基本格局是：局部改善,整体恶化,虽然仍是可防治的,但扭转总体态势和治理的难度将进一步加大;区域间、产业间和作物间的差异很大,不能以点盖面;化肥、农药等是一把双刃剑,应客观评价,高效使用。在对七种典型防治思路分析的基础上,本研究针对中国农田污染防控的薄弱环节,提出了走农田污染综合立体防控的道路,实现中国国情背景下农田污染防治和农业可持续发展的双赢的战略构思。     

“桂 - 阳”区域郊野型旅游绿道网选线适宜性评价

基于全域旅游理念和适宜性评价理论，对桂林城区至阳朔县区域绿道网选线规划展开重点研究。采用实地踏勘、问卷调研等方法，首先对区域现有旅游资源状况和绿道建设可行性进行分析，提出绿道网规划选线目标，即南拓北线漓东绿道，同步建设漓西绿道，并结合桂阳绿道、漓西绿道两条主干绿道，打造中部绿道网，构建“桂-阳”全域旅游郊野型绿道网。其次采用层次分析法、德尔菲法等定量方法构建适宜性评价结构模型，确定地貌、景点资源、水资源、村镇、商业资源5个一级因子指标及权重，利用GIS技术生成综合适宜性分析图，结合已有道路和资源进行修正后获得绿道网选线布局。最后对绿道分级、驿站站点间距、配套服务、综合道宽度等建设提出技术要求。