Understanding farmer intentions to connect to a modernised delivery system in an Australian irrigation district: a reasoned action approach

Australian governments have sought to invest in irrigation infrastructure to improve the efficiency of water delivery to rural properties and improve water supply and on-farm efficiency. A programme of rationalising irrigation infrastructure has attracted criticism and doubts about its likely success. Attitude theory in the form of the Reasoned Action Model was applied to understand the intentions of landowners to connect to a ‘modernised’ irrigation system. Attitudes towards connecting to the system, social norms and perceptions of control over the behaviour provided an explanation of intentions to connect. Actual financial capability and other variables were important in discriminating a group of landowners who had already connected to the modernised system from farmers who had not.     

Fecal DDA as a biomarker of DDT exposure in chickens

Despite the largely theoretical risks for human morbidity from exposure to DDT (p, p′-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), the reality that it is inexpensive and highly effective in reducing morbidity and mortality from malaria vectors has encouraged its continued use. Here we present data indicating that domestic fowl are potentially excellent sentinel species for detecting possible human exposures to DDT. In addition to measuring residues of DDT in chicken blood or eggs, a potential alternate analyte indicative of recent DDT exposure is the definitive metabolic product DDA (2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)acetic acid) in feces.