Producers' and Consumers' Expectations towards Geographical Indications - Empirical Evidence for Hessian Apple Wine

The number of products bearing a Geographical Indication (GI) has increased steadily in recent years. The EU Commission considers GIs as a useful tool in fostering simultaneously the production of high-quality food products as well as rural development in less-favoured regions. However, GIs are by no means a self runner. In order to be successful consumers have to value GIs. So far empirical evidence with respect to consumers' knowledge, expectations and WTP towards GI products is rather mixed and mainly focused on Mediterranean countries. The present paper addresses both sides of the market, i.e. producers' motivations to establish a GI and consumers' expectations towards GI products by representing results from a German case study, i.e. Hessian apple wine. In November 2008, an online-survey with 741 Hessian consumers was carried out. In the same month, an in-depth interview with one of the leading producers of Hessian apple wine, who was directly involved in the PGI application process, was conducted. The results indicate that the most important motivation to apply for a PGI is to secure the established reputation against misuse by competing producers in order to ensure the quality level of Hessian apple wine. Hessian consumers' awareness and knowledge about GIs is very limited. Moreover, it is found that the quality-dimension is not as important as the local-economy support dimension and perceived authenticity of the product.Geographical indications, German case study, cider, online survey, Agricultural and Food Policy,

A Comparative Study of the Engagement of Migrant and Indigenous Artisans on the Construction Sites in Lagos Metropolis and Benin City, Nigeria

It is gradually becoming a norm to find some construction trades in project sites in Nigeria being dominated by migrant artisans from other West African countries, despite the high unemployment rate in Nigeria. The magnitude and spread of these migrants in Nigerian cities deserves research attention in the effort to understand the demographic settings that encourage their influx, and the reasons why contractors often employ them. This research carried out comparative study of the factors responsible for the engagement of migrant artisans in Lagos Metropolis and Benin City, South-West and South-South Nigeria respectively. Based on data from 40 randomly selected construction sites, 20 from each of the cities; it was found that indigenous artisans were dominant on construction sites in the study area with migrant artisans constituting 19.93% in Lagos and 15.67% in Benin City. Contractors in Lagos Metropolis engage the services of migrant artisans more frequently than those in Benin City. The study further revealed that migrant artisans are mainly engaged for tiling, P.O.P. installation and plastering works in Lagos and Benin City. The migrant artisans’ ability to work for longer hours (MS= 4.03), achieve better quality of workmanship (MS= 3.94) and reduction in cost (MS= 3.92) were the most important factors accounting for their engagement in Lagos. In Benin City, better quality of workmanship (MS= 4.30), reduction in cost (MS= 4.10) and migrant artisans’ ability to work for longer hours (MS= 3.82) were the most highly rated factors. Collaboration for trade test certification between the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity and Polytechnics in Nigeria was recommended as a means of achieving adequate training of Nigerian artisans in order to check the increasing engagement of nationals of other countries in construction trades in Nigeria

Dynamic distribution modelling of the swamp tigertail dragonflySynthemis eustalacta(Odonata: Anisoptera: Synthemistidae) over a 20‐year bushfire regime

Intensity and severity of bushfires in Australia have increased over the past few decades due to climate change, threatening habitat loss for numerous species. Although the impact of bushfires on vertebrates is well-documented, the corresponding effects on insect taxa are rarely examined, although they are responsible for key ecosystem functions and services. Understanding the effects of bushfire seasons on insect distributions could elucidate long-term impacts and patterns of ecosystem recovery. Here, the authors investigated the effects of recent bushfires, land-cover change, and climatic variables on the distribution of a common and endemic dragonfly, the swamp tigertail (Synthemis eustalacta) (Burmeister, 1839), which inhabits forests that have recently undergone severe burning. The authors used a temporally dynamic species distribution modelling approach that incorporated 20 years of community-science data on dragonfly occurrence and predictors based on fire, land cover, and climate to make yearly predictions of suitability. The authors also compared this to an approach that combines multiple temporally static models that use annual data. The authors found that for both approaches, fire-specific variables had negligible importance for the models, while the percentage of tree and non-vegetative cover were most important. The authors also found that the dynamic model outperformed the static ones, based on cross-validation omission rate. Model predictions indicated temporal variation in area and spatial arrangement of suitable habitat, but no patterns of habitat expansion, contraction, or shifting. These results highlight not only the efficacy of dynamic modelling to capture spatiotemporal variables such as vegetation cover for an endemic insect species, but also provide a novel approach to mapping species distributions with sparse locality records.journal articl

Gene flow in a pioneer plant metapopulation (Myricaria germanica) at the catchment scale in a fragmented alpine river system

River alterations for natural hazard mitigation and land reclamation result in habitat decline and fragmentation for riparian plant species. Extreme events such as floods are responsible for additional local species loss or population decline. Tributaries might provide refugia and subsequent source populations for the colonization of downstream sites in connected riverine networks with metapopulations of plant species. In this study, we analyzed the metapopulation structure of the endangered riparian shrub species Myricaria germanica along the river Isel, Austria, which is part of the Natura 2000 network, and its tributaries. The use of 22 microsatellite markers allowed us to assess the role of tributaries and single populations as well as gene flow up- and downstream. The analysis of 1307 individuals from 45 sites shows the influence of tributaries to the genetic diversity at Isel and no overall isolation by distance pattern. Ongoing bidirectional gene flow is revealed by the detection of first-generation migrants in populations of all tributaries as well as the river Isel, supporting upstream dispersal by wind (seeds) or animals (seeds and pollen). However, some populations display significant population declines and high inbreeding, and recent migration rates are non-significant or low. The genetic pattern at the mouth of river Schwarzach into Isel and shortly thereafter river Kalserbach supports the finding that geographically close populations remain connected and that tributaries can form important refugia for M. germanica in the dynamic riverine network. Conservation and mitigation measures should therefore focus on providing sufficient habitat along tributaries of various size allowing pioneer plants to cope with extreme events in the main channel, especially as they are expected to be more frequent under changing climate

Harnessing European Labour Mobility: Scenario analysis and policy recommendations. Bertelsmann Studies

As it enters its sixth year of prolonged economic crisis, the European Union (EU) stands at a crossroads. The sluggish economic growth observed in most Member States, combined with growing economic imbalances between northern and southern Europe and widening social inequalities driven by high unemployment have cast doubt on the EU’s ability to achieve its vision of establishing a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy. It is unclear whether European leaders can take the steps needed to strengthen European integration or if populist and anti-EU parties will continue to gain traction and potentially derail the European project. The upcoming European Parliament elections offer EU citizens for the first time a clear choice regarding the future design of the EU by giving them a say in who will become the European Commission’s next president

Free Movement of Persons: The Mirage of Social Security Schemes. Bruges European Economic Research Papers (BEER) 34/2015

The purpose of this paper is to address the issue of social security benefits that jobseekers, nationals of other Member State, residing in another Member States are in title to, as well as the economic implications of free movement of persons and labour market access. Consequently, it aims to disentangle between labour mobility welfare effects and “benefit tourism” looking in particular at the United Kingdom social security system and analysing the policy framework currently in place that governs the free movement of people across the European Union Member States

Air Pollution and Inflammation (Interleukin-6, C-Reactive Protein, Fibrinogen) in Myocardial Infarction Survivors

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have found that ambient air pollution has been associated with cardiovascular disease exacerbation. OBJECTIVES: Given previous findings, we hypothesized that particulate air pollution might induce systemic inflammation in myocardial infarction (MI) survivors, contributing to an increased vulnerability to elevated concentrations of ambient particles. METHODS: A prospective longitudinal study of 1,003 MI survivors was performed in six European cities between May 2003 and July 2004. We compared repeated measurements of interleukin 6 (IL-6), fibrinogen, and C-reactive protein (CRP) with concurrent levels of air pollution. We collected hourly data on particle number concentrations (PNC), mass concentrations of particulate matter (PM) < 10 microm (PM(10)) and < 2.5 microm (PM(2.5)), gaseous pollutants, and meteorologic data at central monitoring sites in each city. City-specific confounder models were built for each blood marker separately, adjusting for meteorology and time-varying and time-invariant covariates. Data were analyzed with mixed-effects models. RESULTS: Pooled results show an increase in IL-6 when concentrations of PNC were elevated 12-17 hr before blood withdrawal [percent change of geometric mean, 2.7; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.0-4.6]. Five day cumulative exposure to PM(10) was associated with increased fibrinogen concentrations (percent change of arithmetic mean, 0.6; 95% CI, 0.1-1.1). Results remained stable for smokers, diabetics, and patients with heart failure. No consistent associations were found for CRP. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate an immediate response to PNC on the IL-6 level, possibly leading to the production of acute-phase proteins, as seen in increased fibrinogen levels. This might provide a link between air pollution and adverse cardiac events

Social Innovations in the extended Lake Constance area – an overview of the current activities

In recent years the importance of social innovation for societies is rising. Therefore, the European Union realized, that political goals can be successfully achieved through social innovations.1 The concept is offering solutions for social challenges broadly based and in a variety of different fields Thus, the focus of this paper will be to identify social innovation activities in the Lake Constance area and the problems which are being solved through those activities. It will therefore provide a quantitative analysis of the identified projects including the main idea of the activity as well as information about the innovators. The key outcomes of this paper are, that social innovators are mainly focusing on current political challenges such as the refugee crisis. Problems which the society is already facing for a longer period of time, are less focused. It could further be identified, that the majority of social innovators are students or graduates. Also, most of the activities have their origin in bigger cities such as Stuttgart, Karlsruhe or Heidelberg