Paris, 18 September 2006
EFITA newsletter / 275 / European Federation for Information
Technology in Agriculture, Food and the Environment
Next EFITA congress in 2007 in Glasgow
2 - 5 July 2007 - Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland, UK
See: http://www.efitaglasgow.org/
Contact: Caroline PARKER
Email: c.g.parker(a)gcal.ac.uk
Enjoy and share!
See: http://framboise781.free.fr/Paris.htm
Contact: Ehud GELB
Email: gelb(a)agri.huji.ac.il
Invitation to submit a paper to 6ECPA
The five conferences to date have generated proceedings containing peer-reviewed
papers that are widely quoted in the precision agriculture literature.
The aim of the sixth conference is the same - to call for quality scientific
papers that will be reviewed by two scientific assessors before being accepted
for the conference and printed in the proceedings. The initial course
filtering will be undertaken on abstracts (of 300-600 words) and so I invite
you to submit an abstract by the deadline of September 15. Full papers
will be invited, from abstracts selected, to be submitted by November 30.
This is a significant opportunity for you to communicate your research work
to the major European (and international) conference on precision agriculture
and have it disseminated widely through the proceedings. I look forward
to receiving your abstract - just click on http://www.6ecpa.gr/ecpa-sub-abst.html
then click on 'submit an abstract' on the left of the page.
IST 2006
21 – 23 November - HELSINKI
See: http://europa.eu.int/information_society/istevent/2006/index_en.htm
> Learning & Cognition in Humans & Machines
See: http://europa.eu.int/information_society/istevent/2006/cf/network-detail.cfm?id=989
> Professional Learning in Europe (and beyond)
See: http://europa.eu.int/information_society/istevent/2006/cf/network-detail.cfm?id=703
> Meeting the Challenges of Creating an Open Research Archive in the Field
of Technology Enhanced Learning
See: http://europa.eu.int/information_society/istevent/2006/cf/network-detail.cfm?id=775
5th New Ag International Conference & Exhibition
21 - 23 – March 2007 – BUDAPEST - Hungary.
Whether you are in a buying or selling mood or eager to evaluate the most recent
technical developments in plant nutrition, irrigation technology or protected
cropping, this truly beautiful and strategically placed venue will provide unique
opportunities to learn more about the increasingly dynamic markets of Central
and Eastern Europe.
See: http://www.newaginternational.com/
CAST (Council for Agricultural Science and Technology) - Issue Paper Examines
Safety of Consuming Foods from Animals Fed Biotechnology-derived Crops
Because the safety and availability of high-quality food and animal feedstuffs
are critical to populations worldwide, CAST has published a new paper that addresses
these issues. Safety of Meat, Milk, and Eggs from Animals Fed Crops Derived
from Modern Biotechnology is part 5 in a 9-part series "Animal Agriculture’s
Future through Biotechnology." (July 2006) News Release
See: http://www.cast-science.org/cast/src/cast_publications.php?jump=83
See: http://www.cast-science.org/cast/news/feedsafety_nr.htm
Johanns releases fifth and final farm bill analysis paper
WASHINGTON, September 13, 2006-Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns today
released a comprehensive analysis of key factors that will affect future growth
in U.S. agriculture: international trade, research and development, protection
of agriculture from pests and diseases, and challenges in preparing the next
generation of farmers.
"This paper looks at the evolution of the agricultural marketplace and
the strategies that farmers have used to meet emerging challenges," Johanns
said. "As we discuss a new farm bill, we must consider how best to support
future growth in agriculture. This analysis highlights opportunities to do so
by improving our global competitiveness, making research and agriculture protection
programs more effective and facilitating the transition of farms to the farmers
of tomorrow."
Entitled "Strengthening the Foundation for Future Growth in U.S. Agriculture,"
this is the fifth and final in a series of analysis papers related to production
agriculture. As with the four papers before it, it was written by USDA economists.
It is not intended to recommend policy, but rather to provide a thorough analysis
of the state of U.S. agriculture and to present issues and alternatives for
public consideration.
In March 2006 Johanns announced the release of 41 papers summarizing the 4,000
comments received during 52 Farm Bill forums, as well as the comments submitted
via mail and the Internet. Within those 41 papers emerged key themes that Johanns
directed USDA economists to study in depth in preparation for 2007 farm bill
discussions. The first four analysis papers covered risk management, conservation
and the environment, rural development and energy.
The analysis paper released today, as well as previously released papers, are
available at www.usda.gov/farmbill. Transcripts of
the Farm Bill forums and the 41 Farm Bill comment summary papers are also available
online.
See: http://www.usda.gov/2006/09/0350.xml
Will a computer ever attend a party?
At a noisy party our senses are quite remarkable – even above the noise
of music and the general clink of glasses, we can understand what people around
us are saying by combining what we hear with lip reading. This unique ability
of animals to combine sensory information is something that machines could do
well to emulate. The Department of Computing and the Department of Psychology
at the University of Surrey, together with the University of Manchester, jointly
hosted a Workshop on Biologically Inspired Information Fusion to see if we could
learn how animals achieve this multi-sensory processing in order to translate
that into technology.
Representatives from the disciplines of biology, psychology, computer science
and robotics attended to give their perspective on sensory fusion in order to
encourage inter-disciplinary collaboration and provide training. Attendees from
the UK, USA, Italy, Ireland, Germany, France and Australia worked together to
make the workshop productive, with lots of lively discussion about how the different
disciplines can work together to help each other understand multi-sensory processing
in humans and animals. A key objective was to discuss how cross-discipline information
might be used to build systems that can fuse different sources of information,
say video and audio signals, in a bid to make more intelligent systems.
One of the highlights of the workshop was the tutorial given by Professor Barry
Stein of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, who provided a very engaging
and detailed presentation of his work on understanding how animals combine audio,
visual and tactile sensation in order to react to events in their surroundings.
Similar talks on behaviour and brain imaging studies of animals, sensory processing
in robots and software fusion systems were given by other key speakers. Current
work by researchers in the different fields was also presented to provoke discussion
by posing controversial questions. Finally, to help foster student research,
a dedicated session was held for students to present their work and get feedback
from the leaders in the disciplines.
Overall there was strong debate about the objectives needed to extend collaboration
and bring together the disciplines, with good feedback received as to the effectiveness
of the workshop. The work was funded by the EPSRC and by Surrey’s Institute
of Advanced Studies.
See: www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/ias/workshops/biif/.
Contact: Stuart MILLER
E-mail: s.e.miller(a)surrey.ac.uk
Retirement - Do you recognise yourself? Maybe a little... And they ask me
why I like retirement..?
Question: How many days in a week?
Answer: 6 Saturdays, 1 Sunday.
Question: When is a retiree's bed time?
Answer: Three hours after he falls asleep on the couch.
Question: How many retirees are needed to change a light bulb?
Answer: Only one, but it might take all day.
Question: What's the biggest gripe of retirees?
Answer: There is not enough time to get everything done.
Question: Why don't retirees mind being called Seniors?
Answer: The term comes with a 10% percent discount.
Question: Among retirees what is considered formal attire?
Answer: Tied shoes.
Question: Why do retirees count pennies?
Answer: They are the only ones who have the time.
Question: What is the common term for someone who enjoys work and refuses to
retire?
Answer: NUTS!
Question: Why are retirees so slow to clean out the basement, attic or garage?
Answer: They know that as soon as they do, one of their adult kids will want
to store stuff there.
Question: What do retirees call a long lunch? Answer: Normal.
Question: What is the best way to describe retirement?
Answers: The never ending coffee break.
Question: What's the biggest advantage of going back to school as a retiree?
Answer: If you cut classes, no one calls your parents.
Question: Why does a retiree often say he does not miss work, but misses the
people he used to work with?
Answer: He is too polite to tell the whole truth.
Share this one with all the retirees you know. I'm sure they can relate to some
of them.
Contact: I. KITRON
Email: kitron1(a)terra.com.br
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