Mixed Markets in the Food Processing Industry

The food processing industry in Western countries operates in markets that usually are highly concentrated, consisting of a few cooperatives and investor-owned firms. However, in the literature some studies questioned whether the mixed market structure is a stable equilibrium, and suggestions are made that the cooperatives eventually will crowd out all investor-owned firms. To analyse the problem, the family of models of mixed markets is generalized and analysed. It is shown that a mixed market equilibrium may occur under quite general conditions. Also, it is shown that the investor-owned firm may serve as a yardstick of production to the cooperative, helping farmers achieve an increased payoff relative to a situation with a single coop in the market.cooperative, endogenous membership, investor-owned-firm, mixed market, yardstick of production, Agribusiness, L11, L13, P12, P13, Q13,

SAFE FOOD AND WATER: PRODUCERS LOOK AT RISK

Environmental Economics and Policy,

Regulatory Institutions in Agricultural Markets: A Comparative Analysis

We have employed a simple model to analyse market regulation in a situation with multifunctional agricultural production, i.e., a public good produced jointly with a private good, and where there is imperfect competition in processing. We have analysed the impact on welfare of two archetype regulatory institutions formed to overcome the market imperfections. The institutions, a Regulatory Marketing Board and a Regulatory Marketing Cooperative, are both represented in the Norwegian agricultural market. Taking into account the cost of public funds, we find that the Board in general ensures the highest social welfare. The Cooperative does not replicate the Board solution unless restricted by a price cap and in combination with a production subsidy. If the restricted Cooperative is able to practise a higher degree of cost sharing than the Board, it may however produce the highest welfare.cooperative, marketing board, multifunctionality, oligopsony, trade, Political Economy,

Regional Impacts of Tourism in Norway: Regional Satellite Accounting for Tourism as a basis for Regional Input-Output Modelling

Economic Accounting is relatively well developed in Norway especially on the national level, but also on the regional level. Satellite accounting is used for focusing certain features of the economy, a.o. for tourism. A satellite account for tourism has been developed on the national level. Because the tourists'activities are regional activities, and because the impacts of tourism are significant not only on the national, but also on the regional level, a regional satellite account for tourism was developed by us during the past two years. Such satellite accounts on the regional level are, to our knowledge, not developed worldwide. The data can a.o. be used for moderating existing input-output models, so they can become more tailor-made for analysing impacts of tourists' economic activities. We propose a paper that focuses on our work - methods for regionalising satellite accounts for tourism, - indicators applied for this regionalisation, - how regional satellite account figures can be adapted into existing input-output models of the Norwegian economy (on the regional level), and - an example, showing how the regional satellite accounts for tourism can be used for simulating the regional impacts of tourism by the use of input-output techniques.

Social work intervention with adults who self-neglect in England: responding to the Care Act 2014

Purpose – The paper reports on findings from an evaluative research study which looked at a timed intervention model of practice comprising of up to 24 weeks of intensive meetings with adult service users set up by one local authority in England, to prevent and delay the need for care and support. A particular focus of this paper is adults who hoard. Design/methodology/approach – The study employed a mixed-methods design, consisting of interviews with service users (n=13); social workers (n=3); social work managers (n=2); and stakeholders from external services and agencies (n=6). It included a costings analysis of staff time and an analysis of service users’ goals and of ‘satisfaction with life’ self-report questionnaires (n=20), completed at pre- and post-intervention stages. Findings – There was evidence that social workers used strengths, relationship-based and outcome-focused approaches in their work. The techniques used by social workers to engage, achieve change and assess effectiveness with service users varied. These included the use of photographs to enable the service user to map and assess their own progress over time, encouraging hoarders to declutter and reclaim their living space. The service users valued the time the social workers spent with them and the way that they were treated with sensitivity and respect. Research limitations/implications – The study focused on one local authority in England; there was no comparison group. This, and the small sample size, means that statistical generalisations cannot be made and only limited conclusions can be drawn from the quantitative data

Regional Impacts of Tourism in Norway: Regional Satellite Accounting for Tourism as a basis for Regional Input-Output Modelling

Economic Accounting is relatively well developed in Norway especially on the national level, but also on the regional level. Satellite accounting is used for focusing certain features of the economy, a.o. for tourism. A satellite account for tourism has been developed on the national level. Because the tourists'activities are regional activities, and because the impacts of tourism are significant not only on the national, but also on the regional level, a regional satellite account for tourism was developed by us during the past two years. Such satellite accounts on the regional level are, to our knowledge, not developed worldwide. The data can a.o. be used for moderating existing input-output models, so they can become more tailor-made for analysing impacts of tourists' economic activities. We propose a paper that focuses on our work - methods for regionalising satellite accounts for tourism, - indicators applied for this regionalisation, - how regional satellite account figures can be adapted into existing input-output models of the Norwegian economy (on the regional level), and - an example, showing how the regional satellite accounts for tourism can be used for simulating the regional impacts of tourism by the use of input-output techniques

Incident venous thromboembolic events in the Prospective Study of Pravastatin in the Elderly at Risk (PROSPER)

<p>Background: Venous thromboembolic events (VTE), including deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, are common in older age. It has been suggested that statins might reduce the risk of VTE however positive results from studies of middle aged subjects may not be generalisable to elderly people. We aimed to determine the effect of pravastatin on incident VTE in older people; we also studied the impact of clinical and plasma risk variables.</p> <p>Methods: This study was an analysis of incident VTE using data from the Prospective Study of Pravastatin in the Elderly at Risk (PROSPER), a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of pravastatin in men and women aged 70-82. Mean follow-up was 3.2 years. Risk for VTE was examined in non-warfarin treated pravastatin (n = 2834) and placebo (n = 2865) patients using a Cox's proportional hazard model, and the impact of other risk factors assessed in a multivariate forward stepwise regression analysis. Baseline clinical characteristics, blood biochemistry and hematology variables, plasma levels of lipids and lipoproteins, and plasma markers of inflammation and adiposity were compared. Plasma markers of thrombosis and hemostasis were assessed in a nested case (n = 48) control (n = 93) study where the cohort was those participants, not on warfarin, for whom data were available.</p> <p>Results: There were 28 definite cases (1.0%) of incident VTE in the pravastatin group recipients and 20 cases (0.70%) in placebo recipients. Pravastatin did not reduce VTE in PROSPER compared to placebo [unadjusted hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) 1.42 (0.80, 2.52) p = 0.23]. Higher body mass index (BMI) [1.09 (1.02, 1.15) p = 0.0075], country [Scotland vs Netherlands 4.26 (1.00, 18.21) p = 0.050 and Ireland vs Netherlands 6.16 (1.46, 26.00) p = 0.013], lower systolic blood pressure [1.35 (1.03, 1.75) p = 0.027] and lower baseline Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score [1.19 (1.01, 1.41) p = 0.034] were associated with an increased risk of VTE, however only BMI, country and systolic blood pressure remained significant on multivariate analysis. In a nested case control study of definite VTE, plasma Factor VIII levels were associated with VTE [1.52 (1.01, 2.28), p = 0.044]. However no other measure of thrombosis and haemostasis was associated with increased risk of VTE.</p> <p>Conclusions: Pravastatin does not prevent VTE in elderly people at risk of vascular disease. Blood markers of haemostasis and inflammation are not strongly predictive of VTE in older age however BMI, country and lower systolic blood pressure are independently associated with VTE risk.</p&gt

Women Agricultural Landowners—Past Time to Put Them “On the Radar”

While women own 25% of the acres rented out for farming, little has been done in terms of federal policy that focuses on these women. In this policy analysis, we detail how (1) lack of data on these women landowners and (2) the invisibility of these women to federal natural resource and agricultural agency staff contribute to women nonoperating landowners (WNOLs) not being on the federal policy radar. We discuss how the persistence of these factors continues to marginalize WNOLs in federal agricultural policy, despite the mandate of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agencies to be serving underserved populations such as WNOLs. Our study findings clearly illustrate a critical point: federal agricultural/conservation agencies are not fulfilling their mandate to reach WNOLs. Using data from USDA Production Regions in the United States, we detail how WNOLs are marginalized and provide specific policy recommendations to allow for intentional inclusion of these women

The use of the Internet in science teaching: a longitudinal study of developments in use by student teachers in England

This paper reports on a longitudinal study of developments in use of the Internet by science student teachers on Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) courses in five higher education institution – schools partnerships in England. These are one year, full time, teacher training courses for graduate scientists. The aim of the research was to examine changes in attitudes to, and use of, the Internet to support science teaching and the perceived challenges and barriers to practice in schools, against a background of high national expectations reflected in the qualification standards of the teacher education courses. The research has involved nearly 600 student teachers, representing between 7% and 8% of those training on PGCE science courses in England, and has employed mixed methods, with questionnaires serving as the main basis for analysing trends, and focus groups and case studies used to gain deeper insight to the particular issues identified. The process has been an iterative one, with the outcomes of each year's research being used to inform further research and course developments in the institutions involved. The findings indicate that attitudes and confidence in use of the Internet have improved over the period, with evidence of increased application directly in the classroom. However, in addition to some of the generic technological issues that may hinder developments in the use of ICT, there are continuing concerns relating to limited pedagogical guidance and availability of good role models. The implications of this for developments in science teacher education programmes are discussed