Rj Clark

From serendipity to sustainable competitive advantage: Insights from Houston's Farm and their journey of co-innovation

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the importance of a strategic approach to collaborative innovation and the use of a value chain research methodology for identifying opportunities for co‐innovation.Design/methodology/approach – Value chain analysis is used to map three flows in the Houston Farms value chain; material flow, information flow and relationships. Having diagnosed the current level of co‐innovation we then identify improvement projects and opportunities for co‐innovation to reduce cost and add value, for the benefit of the value chain as a whole.Findings – The application of the value chain analysis methodology to the Houston Farms value chain revealed the importance of strategy and robust processes in key areas for co‐innovation – R&D and new product development. It also revealed that small businesses can enjoy a degree of success as a result of comparative advantage in certain areas but that sustainable competitive advantage cannot occur by chance – identifying the pote...

Genetic diversity and breed comparison of carcass traits in Tasmanian Corriedale and East-Friesian sheep by RAPD markers

All organisms are subject to mutations as a result of normal cellular operations or interactions with the environment, leading to genetic variation (polymorphism). In conjunction with selection and genetic drift, there arises genetic variation within and among individuals and species. For this variation to be useful to geneticists, it must be heritable and discernable whether as a recognisable phenotypic variation or as a genetic mutation distinguishable through molecular techniques. PCR amplification and gel electrophoresis resolution of products using RAPD primer A2 shows polymorphism of up to 5 bands was evident. It also demonstrates that at the molecular level, there are banding differences that can be picked up between crossbred progeny sired by rams with high genetic merit for growth or muscle.Fat depth at the GR and C sites was significantly (P<0.05) influenced by level of nutrition and nutrition level x siretype interaction in that fat depths were greater in crossbred lambs fed at high levels of nutrition than those fed low nutrition levels. Lambs selected for growth and fed high level of nutrition produced carcasses with the least KNIFE GR fat depth of 11.4mm, a significant reduction from 18.1mm in the control group fed low level nutrition.RAPD marker assays are based on polymerase chain reaction amplification of random segments of the DNA with an identical pair of primers 8-10 bp in length consisting of arbitrary nucleotide sequence. Genetic variation and divergence within and between breeds of interest are assessed by the presence or absence of each product which is dictated by the DNA sequence at each locus. The power to detect polymorphisms is very high given that 5-20 bands can be produced using a given primer pair and multiple sets of random primers can be used to scan the entire genome for differential RAPD bands. RAPD has several advantages over other molecular markers because it can be used with uncharacterised genomes without prior knowledge of nucleotide sequence information and can be applied to problems in which only small quantities of DNA are available. It is also efficient and inexpensive.At the same slaughter weight and body condition score, Corriedales had significantly (P 0.09).

Taking the future in their hands: Local development practice around the world

This paper analyses a number of case studies of collaborative local development initiatives from around the world, including a process currently being researched in the Derwent Valley region of Tasmania. These initiatives sought to balance economic development with community development and in each case similar basic steps were followed to achieve it. The outcomes were found to vary with the level of resources available and the experience, skills and motivation of the local organisers. The implications of such processes for regional Australia are discussed, including ways to stimulate and support them, and enhance their effectiveness. Suggestions are made to enhance local and national integration, partnerships, devolution of power and resources to the local level, and the transfer of experience between localities, which are seen as critical elements if local development is to seriously address the systemic problems facing regional Australia.

RAPD marker variation in meat quality traits of Poll Dorset second-cross lambs selected for muscle or growth

All organisms are subject to mutations as a result of normal cellular operations or interactions with the environment, leading to genetic variation (polymorphism). In conjunction with selection and genetic drift, there arises genetic variation within and among individuals and species. For this variation to be useful to geneticists, it must be heritable and discernable whether as a recognisable phenotypic variation or as a genetic mutation distinguishable through molecular techniques. PCR amplification and gel electrophoresis resolution of products using RAPD primer A2 shows polymorphism of up to 5 bands was evident. It also demonstrates that at the molecular level, there are banding differences that can be picked up between crossbred progeny sired by rams with high genetic merit for growth or muscle.Fat depth at the GR and C sites was significantly (P<0.05) influenced by level of nutrition and nutrition level x siretype interaction in that fat depths were greater in crossbred lambs fed at high levels of nutrition than those fed low nutrition levels. Lambs selected for growth and fed high level of nutrition produced carcasses with the least KNIFE GR fat depth of 11.4mm, a significant reduction from 18.1mm in the control group fed low level nutrition.RAPD marker assays are based on polymerase chain reaction amplification of random segments of the DNA with an identical pair of primers 8-10 bp in length consisting of arbitrary nucleotide sequence. Genetic variation and divergence within and between breeds of interest are assessed by the presence or absence of each product which is dictated by the DNA sequence at each locus. The power to detect polymorphisms is very high given that 5-20 bands can be produced using a given primer pair and multiple sets of random primers can be used to scan the entire genome for differential RAPD bands. RAPD has several advantages over other molecular markers because it can be used with uncharacterised genomes without prior knowledge of nucleotide sequence information and can be applied to problems in which only small quantities of DNA are available. It is also efficient and inexpensive.At the same slaughter weight and body condition score, Corriedales had significantly (P 0.09).