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The purpose of this paper is to explore environmental contamination from pesticide use in a Khao Kho Sub-district, Khao Kho District in Phetchabun Province, Thailand.

The study area was made up of four villages: Kanok Ngam, Lao Lue, Lao Neng and Phet Dam, all mostly highland areas whose inhabitants are mainly from the hill tribes. The 548 participants were recruited with inclusion criteria being that they must be living in the area over one year and are agriculturists or relevant who use pesticides. The data collection was divided into two parts: first, population data using a questionnaire; and second, samples of environmental media including agricultural products gathered to analyze the contamination of pesticides. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

The most planted crop was rice (53.52 percent). Regarding agricultural chemical uses, the study found that the majority of participants used herbicides (76.83 percent). In terms of herbicide uses, Glyphosate is the most used (39.59 percent). Furthermore, insecticide consumption uses were higher in Phet Dam village than the other villages. The most common uses were Carbaryl (20.66 percent), followed by β-Betoefluthrin (15.49 percent).

There were glyphosate and derivatives of glyphosate (Aminomethyl Phosphonic Acid) in soil and sediment samples, while herbicides and insecticides were not found in water and agricultural samples. Because these environmental contaminants are a major cause for health problems amongst producers and consumers alike, agriculturists should be supported by relevant organizations to increase organic crop cultivation methods and organic farming networks.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the antecedents, internal/external drivers and circumstances that diminish the importance of reputation and permit it to be circumvented in the context of a fusion (Monsanto-Bayer) and propose a comprehensive stakeholder perception-molding (“sense-giving”) model to counter reputation-damaging factors.

The present study is a longitudinal case study of merging entities using an intra-organizational evolutionary perspective combined with external analysis.

Reputational hurdles can be successfully circumvented by a multifaceted strategy leveraging timely and tailored combinations of cognitive, conative and linguistic perception-molding strategies for effective management of diverse stakeholder perception processes spanning across identity orientation, legitimacy, posture, consistency, commitment, justification and transparency.

The research is susceptible to the general limitations of case studies such as omission bias in terms of focusing on only two purposefully chosen market-leader firms involved in a merger, though every effort was made to track competitor movements, broad trends in markets and the micro- and macro-environments.

The proposed heptagonal reputation circumvention perception-molding framework (Figure 1) summarizes various actionable strategies to help managers develop a global vision and portfolio of strategies to proactively or reactively manage attacks on reputation.

An in-depth and multi-decade study of antecedents and internal/external drivers of the successful mega-fusion of two companies with a long history of reputational shocks was leveraged to provide unique insights into the interplay of various strategies targeting diverse stakeholder perceptions. These insights were then generalized to create a comprehensive perception-molding strategic framework to help firm managers circumvent reputational tarnishment hurdles.

The widespread introduction of genetically modified (GM) crops may change the effect of agriculture on the environment. The magnitude and direction of expected effects are still being hotly debated, and the interests served in this discussion arena are often far from those of science and social welfare maximization. This chapter proposes that GM crops have net positive environmental effects, while regulatory responses focus mainly on environmental concerns, giving an unbalanced picture of the regulatory context. This unbalance supports the hypothesis that environmental concerns about GM crops have been politically instrumentalized and that more attention should be paid to regulatory responses considering the environmental benefits of this technology. It is also argued that a number of environmental effects have not yet been quantified and more research is needed in this direction.

In the UK, Japanese knotweed is an invasive, non‐native plant that has the potential to cause significant damage to buildings, foundations and development sites if left to establish. The plant's bamboo‐like stems can push their way through tarmac and expose weaknesses or cracks in concrete. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the current problems caused by Japanese knotweed within the UK and to ascertain the extent to which the knotweed legislation provides clear enough guidelines and measures, and, if not, how this could be addressed.

A literature review and interviews have investigated the current and future eradication and control techniques available for Japanese knotweed. The primary and secondary research conducted has incorporated the views and opinions of experienced Japanese knotweed experts. Case studies of sites infested with knotweed have also been carried out.

The study has identified and recommended that both public and professional awareness of Japanese knotweed still needs to be increased, throughout the UK. A detailed identification card has therefore been produced as part of this study, in order to show the different growth stages of the invasive plant, throughout the year. The study has demonstrated that an eradication technique must be carefully chosen and tailored to suit each infested site after a full site survey. The semi‐structured interviews have established that the current legislation, guidance notes and also the “Knotweed Code of Practice” produced by the Environmental Agency, provide adequate guidance on controlling Japanese knotweed. The research highlighted that knotweed spreading from neighbouring properties was a potential problem, but in practice, neighbours usually reach mutual agreement to avoid high legal costs.

Japanese knotweed is an increasing problem in the UK and this research will increase the awareness of those instructed to inspect property or development sites where infestation may have occurred. Professionals within the construction industry including surveyors, estate agents, developers and project managers will all find this paper of benefit.

Purpose – The objective of this chapter is to examine and provide new perspectives on the contributions of public and private R&D to biotech crop improvement.

Methodology/approach – The chapter examines a set of topics that have affected the way that research is undertaken on plant germplasm improvement and how it has changed with the genetically modified (GM) trait revolution.

Findings – Although the basic science providing the foundations for GM crops was undertaken in the public sector, GM traits and GM crop varieties have been developed almost exclusively by the private sector. The biotech events leading to GM traits are currently being developed largely by five companies – all having ties to both the chemical and the seed industries. The GM crop revolution started in North American in 1996 and has spread slowly to the largest developing countries that have large agricultural sectors, including Argentina, China, Brazil, and India, but not to Europe or Japan.

Practical implication – To shed new light on the economic reasons for private sector dominance in GM crop varietal development in selected crops but not in others.

Social implication – Shows how GM traits have contributed to technical change and declining real food prices.