我国自然垄断行业民营化改革的法律完善

自然垄断行业的性质决定了其存在的必要性 ,但由于缺乏竞争机制必然会带来垄断的弊端。在新的经济和社会条件下 ,实行民营化改革 ,引入竞争机制 ,已成为自然垄断行业改革的必然选择。因此 ,必须建立和完善相应的法律制度。     

以融合正义重构人工智能司法的逻辑

我国的人工智能司法发展具有明显的突变特色,缺乏足够的制度和理论调适,广泛应用会带来司法逻辑的内在冲突。司法的社会技术特性和人工智能的自然技术特性之间具有天然的亲和性,为我国人工智能司法广泛应用提供了工具理性基础。但人工智能介入司法会带来原有社会黏合基础改变,无法完全应对司法过程的随机性和偶然性因素,并且会因为技术竞争带来新的不正义。需要扩展法律正义的蕴含,将法律正义的纯粹道德内核扩展为功利-道德内核,将司法从社会技术转换为技术-社会技术;在司法结构上设置技术-社会的双重竞争性机制,以维护基本的演化平衡;通过技术-社会互动的重构实现人工智能介入后的融合正义司法模式。     

“Here we give advice for free”: the functioning of plant clinics in Rwanda

Although plant clinics are considered an important mechanism in the service delivery to farmers, not much is known about their functioning in the daily reality of plant doctors and farmer-clients. This article reports on an exploratory study describing the functioning of eight plant clinics in Rwanda. Personal and organisational commitment, publicity, and proactive communication with farmers and local leaders are key factors explaining higher attendance of some clinics. Farmer attendance is under-reported by 40–50%. Data management needs improvement to make clinic records reliable tools for decision-makers. This type of assessment can help improve operations and realise the plant clinics’ potential.     

Supporting farmer participation in formal seed systems: lessons from Tharaka,Kenya

This article examines contemporary challenges of formal seed sector participation for resource-poor farmers in Tharaka and engages in a wider discussion of national seed policy and formal seed sector development in Kenya. While many farmers reported utilising modern seed varieties developed by the formal seed sector, the majority of these were introduced through seed aid and maintained through seed saving, supporting seed system integration strategies. Building on these findings, the article discusses ways in which national seed policy in Kenya might be refined to better meet national and regional development goals focused on decreasing the incidence of hunger and poverty.     

One-stop border posts and informal livelihoods in Busia,Kenya

‘One-stop border posts’ (OSBP) are being developed on East African trade corridors to support growth in cross-border trade in the region. This article presents a household survey examining the impact of the OSBP at Busia on the Kenya–Uganda border on the livelihoods of informal traders and workers. It finds positive effects through enhanced access to cross-border trade. However, it also finds negative effects, including reduced work opportunities for unskilled manual workers. Further research is needed into the long-term effects on the price and foreign exchange differentials which currently incentivise the informal trade, before the effects can be fully assessed.     

High food prices in urban Cameroon: coping strategies and suggested policy actions

Governments tend to focus on short-term policies to address the immediate effects of high food prices when spikes occur, while in the long term, urban residents are left to their own devices struggling to ensure adequate household food consumption. Using data collected in three cities in Cameroon among 300 households, this article documents participants’ opinions on appropriate policies to address high food prices as well as how households cope with chronic high food prices. It emphasises the importance of long-term government strategies such as improved farm-to-market roads and agricultural sector supports as means to improve food security.     

我国自然资源德用权流转的法律规制及完善

自然资源是物,自然资源使用权是用益物权,其流转可实现对其的永续利用。我国自然资源使用权流转在可交易的权利类型,流转的主体资格和法律条件,审批登记制度,价值评估制度,监督管理等方面存在不足。我国法律应在扩大可交易的自然资源使用权类型的范围,严格主体的市场准入条件,完善权属登记制度,全面实行开发利用规划,建立与之相适应的司法制度,采取环保激励措施等方面予以完善。     

Participatory visual research with subsistence farmers in Papua New Guinea

This article discusses the trial of visual research methods in a socio-economic research and development project with women subsistence farmers and their families in two regions of Papua New Guinea (PNG). It reports on the benefits and challenges of three visual research methods (drawing, participatory photography, and picture elicitation) to explore the agricultural practice of women subsistence farmers and their families. The paper discusses the potential of these methods for enhancing community engagement, reducing the power imbalance between researchers and participants, and promoting dialogue and reflection to better understand the needs and practices of subsistence farmers.     

Empowering farmers? Collaborative research at Sokoine University of Agriculture,Tanzania

This article presents experiences with collaborative and on-farm research based on the implementation of a four-year Programme for Agricultural and Natural Resources Transformation for Improved Livelihoods (PANTIL) at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) in Morogoro, Tanzania. It outlines the basic elements in the implementation of a programme aimed to be demand-based, and discusses the challenges encountered in combining collaborative research with the empowerment of farmers. Finally, the article draws out some lessons with implications for the future organisation of collaborative and on-farm agricultural research.     

Twenty reasons why local knowledge will remain relevant to development

Local knowledge has continued to gain popularity among development practitioners in the last four decades. However, the future of local knowledge seems hazy to some academics and researchers, perhaps due to the methodological challenges in operationalising local knowledge in development research. Rather than appropriate its full potential for sustainable (global) progress, renditions on the relevance of local knowledge in development research agenda have largely become rhetoric. Nonetheless, this viewpoint outlines 20 pertinent reasons in support of the relevance of local knowledge and why it has a future in development theory and practice.