International Quota Transfer and Intermediate Goods

In this paper we use a general equilibrium model to examine the effects of international quota transfer when a quota restricts world commodity production whilst the trade in an intermediate good is not regulated. The analysis shows that, when the quota regime is not internationally transferable, intermediate input trade substitutes for final good trade. In these circumstances, the distortions are lower than expected. International quota transfer increases world welfare proportionally to quota rent gap. Welfare distribution is also conditioned by commodity terms of trade and, particularly, by the outcome of the intermediate good price.Production quota, international trade, intermediate goods, International Relations/Trade,

Social Versus Private Efficiency: A Comparison of Conventional and Organic Farming Systems in Vineyard Production

Organic farming may be seen as an alternative approach to agriculture that tries to integrate environmental concerns in management practices. By means of DEA, in this work we calculate and compare the efficiency of two samples of conventional and organic vineyards, from two different perspectives: in the first instance, the relationship between inputs and outputs is considered, exclusively, that is, the private efficiency; in the second instance, social efficiency is calculated, and the environmental impacts arising from the activity are also included. The comparison of the results obtained in these two scenarios allows us to draw some conclusions on the efficiency of organic farming in dry-farming conditions.organic farming, efficiency, environmental impact, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management,

Influence of Animal Feeding on Milk Supply in Navarre

Determining the competitive position of dairy farms depends on several technological, economic and institutional variables. Among them, are remarkable those related to animal feeding in the current context of high variability on prices. In this context, the aim of our study is to analyze the effects on milk supply and the competitiveness of dairy farms with different models of land intensification, with greater reliance on market purchases or self production of livestock feed. Our work is based on an econometric approach to a variable cost function, in a fixed effects model for unbalanced panel data of specialized dairy farms in Navarre (Spain). From this region, we use 3 geographical areas in relation to the availability of grazing land. It has been tested the absence of sample selection bias and satisfaction of regularity conditions. The study shows a flexible milk farm supply with respect to the price of milk and very dependent on the evolution of feed prices. This aspect has been emphasized by the restructuring of farms, characterized by strong size increases and productivity gains based on a greater reliance on purchases of animal feed. The provision of grazing land has an important role in determining the average costs and farm profitability. In addition, grazing land use permits greater exploitation of economies of scale present in the dairy sector.multiproduct cost function, panel data, milk, animal feed, dairy farms, Livestock Production/Industries,

Effects on milk supply of different systems of livestock feeding

Determining the competitive position of dairy farms depends on several technological, economic and institutional variables. Among them, are remarkable those related to animal feeding in the current context of high variability on prices. In this context, the aim of this study is to analyze the effects on milk supply and the competitiveness of dairy farms with different models of land intensification, with greater reliance on market purchases or self-production of livestock feed. This study is based on an econometric approach to a variable cost function, in a fixed effects model for unbalanced panel data of specialized dairy farms in Navarre (Spain). From this region, we use 3 geographical areas in relation to the availability of grazing land. It has been tested the absence of sample selection bias and satisfaction of regularity conditions. The study shows a flexible milk farm supply with respect to the price of milk and very dependent on the evolution of feed prices. This aspect has been emphasized by the restructuring of farms, characterized by strong size increases and productivity gains based on a greater reliance on purchases of animal feed. The provision of grazing land has an important role in determining the average costs and farm profitability. In addition, grazing land use permits greater exploitation of economies of scale present in the dairy sector.multiproduct cost function, unbalanced panel data, milk supply, animal feed, dairy farms., Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics, Q12, D24, L25,

E-learning en Blanco y Negro

En este artículo el autor aborda fundamentalmente las razones por las que aún no ha habido un éxito rotundo del e-learning, y que serían las siguientes: Una primera revolución que es un cambio relacionado con Aprender con Tecnología. La mayor parte de la gente no entiende muy bien para que sirve un ordenador. Saben manejarlo pero no saben que cosas se pueden hacer, más allá de escribir o leer. Una segunda revolución que es Aprender Haciendo, implica un cambio drástico de metodología, de protagonismo y responsabilidad. Los alumnos tienen tan internalizado el modelo de educación que la escuela y la universidad les inculca durante tantos años que les resulta casi imposible desembarazarse de él. Una tercera revolución es que la formación, que siempre ha sido un pariente pobre, esté ligada a los resultados de la empresa y a mejorar el desempeño y el comportamiento de los empleados

Nuevos movimientos religiosos y registro de entidades religiosas

En España, el reconocimiento estatal de aquellos grupos que quieren ser identificados como confesiones religiosas se efectúa mediante la inscripción en un Registro que les dota de personalidad jurídica y les permite el acceso a un régimen especialmente favorable. El objeto de este trabajo es trazar una síntesis del régimen jurídico de dicho Registro. A tal efecto, analizaremos el ámbito –subjetivo y objetivo– de la inscripción; luego examinaremos los presupuestos y efectos de la inscripción, con una atención especial a la praxis administrativa y jurisprudencial; y, finalmente, trataremos de sistematizar las diversas propuestas en torno a la reforma del Registro de Entidades Religiosas. No obstante, con carácter previo se examinará el concepto de «confesión religiosa», que es el relevante para ingresar en el Registro y acceder al régimen jurídico favorable y, desde aquí, se valorará el incremento del control de legalidad que se advierte en la práctica administrativa, motivada sin duda por la extensión de nuevos movimientos que instan su inscripción registral.In Spain, the state recognition of those groups that want to be identified as religious confessions is effected by means of the inscription in a special register (the «Register of Religious Entities») that provides them with legal personality and allows them the access to a specially favourable legal regime. The object of this paper is to summarize the legal regime of said Register. To this end, we will analyse the –objective and subjective (or personal)– scope of the inscription; then, we will examine the preconditions and effects of the inscription, paying special attention to the administrative and jurisprudential practice; and, finally, we will try to systematize the diverse proposals concerning the Religious Entities Register reform. Nevertheless, there will be previously examined the concept of «religious confession», which is the relevant one to join the Register and to accede to the favourable legal regime and, from here, will be assessed the increase of the legality control perceived in the administrative practice, motivated undoubtedly by the extension of new movements that urge their inscriptio

Fanatismo religioso iconoclasta: La destrucción de los budas de Bamiyán

El fanatismo religioso ha sido responsable de la desaparición de buena parte del patrimonio cultural de la humanidad. A propósito de la tragedia de la destrucción de los Budas de Bamiyán ordenada por el gobierno talibán de Afganistán para evitar la adoración de ídolos falsos contrarios al Corán, indagaremos los mecanismos que ofrece el derecho internacional para combatir estas acciones, con particular atención a la Declaración relativa a la destrucción intencional del patrimonio cultural aprobada por la UNESCO en 2003. El hecho de que por circunstancias históricas los Budas de Bamiyán dejaran de ser objetos de culto en sentido estricto, plantea la cuestión de las consecuencias que puede tener su eliminación desde la vertiente de la violación del derecho de libertad religiosa. Para ello, se ha de dilucidar si solo se han destruido obras de arte o también se han eliminado símbolos religiosos teniendo en cuenta diversos factores determinantes de su valor o significado según la época y el contexto socialReligious fanaticism has been responsible for the disappearance of much of the cultural heritage of humanity. Apropos of the tragedy of the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan by the Taliban government of Afghanistan to avoid the worship of «false idols» contrary to the Qur’an, we investigate the mechanisms offered by international law to combat these actions, with particular attention to the Declaration concerning the Intentional destruction of Cultural heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 2003. The fact that for historical reasons the Buddhas of Bamiyan have ceased to be objects of worship in strict sense, raises the question of the possible consequences of their elimination from the viewpoint of the violation of the religious freedom right. To do this, it has to be determined whether the destroyed Buddas are only artworks or also religious symbols considering their value or meaning according to the time and social contex

Coupling system design and project planning: discussion on a bijective link between system and project structures

This article discuss the architecture of an integrated model able to support the coupling between a system design process and a project planning process. The project planning process is in charge of defining, planning and controlling the system design project. A benchmarking analysis carried out with fifteen companies belonging to the world competitiveness cluster, Aerospace Valley, has highlighted a lack of models, processes and tools for aiding the interactions between the two environments. We define the coupling as the establishment of links between entities of the two domains while preserving their original semantic, thus allowing information to be collected. The proposed coupling is recursive. It enables systems to be decomposed into subsystems when designers consider complexity to be too high, and can also decompose projects into sub-projects. The coupling enables systematically links to be drawn between project entities and system entities. In this paper, we discuss the different possibilities of linking system and project structures during the design and the planning processes. Firstly, after presenting the results of the industrial analysis, the different entities are defined and the various coupling modes are discussed

Effect of novel ryanodine receptor modulators in mouse and human models of Duchenne muscular dystrophy

157 p.La distrofia muscular de Duchenne (DMD) es una enfermedad hereditaria ligada al cromosoma X queafecta a uno de cada 3500 varones. Esta enfermedad se caracteriza por la degeneración progresiva de lasfibras musculares que conlleva debilidad muscular, incapacidad y muerte prematura.Desafortunadamente, actualmente no existe terapia eficaz para el tratamiento de estos pacientes. La DMDestá producida por mutaciones en el gen que codifica la distrofina una proteína de membrana que actúacomo amortiguador y a su vez sirve de anclaje para diversas proteínas de señalización que son esencialespara el correcto funcionamiento muscular. A su vez, se ha visto que en la DMD los receptores derianodina (RyR) sufren modificaciones post-transcripcionales que afectan su unión a la calstabina (Calst),y generan una pérdida de calcio desde el retículo sarcoplásmico, lo que conlleva al aumento de losniveles de calcio intracelulares. En el presente trabajo, los compuestos AHK que han sido diseñados paraactuar sobre esta prometedora diana terapéutica en colaboración con el grupo del Dr Aizpurua de laUniversidad del País Vasco, han demostrado aumentar significativamente la interacción RyR-Calstmejorando el fenotipo distrófico en ratones mdx, modelo animal de DMD. A su vez, el efecto de loscompuestos AHK ha sido testado in vitro en un modelo humano de DMD, donde han demostrado sueficacia aumentando la interacción RyR1-Calst1 y provocando la reducción de los niveles de calciointracelular. Por todo ello, se concluye que los compuestos AHK podrían consolidar una alternativaterapéutica de gran utilidad para el tratamiento de la DMD

E-learning y los 7 pecados capitales

Internet y el e-learning han sido perjudiciales para la educación y la formación. Una inmensa mayoría ha visto en el e-learning el instrumento perfecto para hacer el menor esfuerzo posible, virtualizar los materiales que ya tenían, ponerlos en la web y hacerlos accesibles a sus empleados gastando lo mínimo y ahorrando lo máximo. La consecuencia no es ninguna sorpresa: lo que sabemos que no funciona en presencial y aderezado además con su dosis de tecnología, que queda muy bien en los tiempos que corren. Se ha optado por lo más rápido y lo más barato que rara vez significa lo mejor. Por tanto lo que se resiente es la calidad : el resultado es que la gente no aprende