Exploring the Serbian consumer attitude towards agro-food products with ethical values: organic, fair-trade and typical/traditional products

The new Millennium has seen a renewed and intensified interest in issues of business ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR). This has been partly driven by a wave of concern about conduct and governance of business and partly reflects a growing interest amongst consumers, policy makers and businesses, in forms of production and consumption that are more sustainable and more ethically oriented. This is typified by growth in demand of products encompassing ethical values such as organic and Fair Trade products. However, research knowledge base about consumers and their behaviour and attitude from an ethical perspective is relatively weak. Consumer attitude to foods is mainly influenced by concerns (e.g. food safety, human health, environmental impact) and commodity attributes (e.g. quality, taste, freshness and packaging). The objective of this paper is to get an insight on Serbian consumer attitude towards agro-food products with ethical values (AFPEV) namely organic, Fair Trade and typical/traditional products. This paper is based on the literature and an online self-administered questionnaire, carried out from December 2010 through June 2011 with 104 Serbian adult consumers, dealing with understanding of and knowledge about AFP and relationships with ethical values; AFPEV buying frequency; main criteria and reasons for buying AFPEV; opinion about AFPEV price and consumer willingness to pay; potential impacts on animal health and welfare as well environmental, economic social and civic impacts of buying AFPEV; purchasing channels; and main sources of information about AFPEV. Serbian consumers have a good knowledge about AFPEV that are bought by 98% of the sample. Most of the respondents relate ethical values to the respect of environment (73.5%) and organic production (49.0%). The main reasons for buying AFPEV are quality (35%), organic certification (17%), and taste (15%). Price seems less important. The main sources of information about AFPEV are mass media, newspapers and magazines (summing up 46%). However, the majority of Serbian consumers prefer to get information directly from the supply chain actors mainly sellers and/or producers. AFPEV are bought mainly from the specialized shops (34%) and supermarkets (26%) to achieve personal satisfaction, for health, safety, natural resources conservation, and environment protection. Consumers do not always buy sustainable products as consequences of environmental concern or to benefit the community or due to personal beliefs but mainly to give priority to health. Ethical factors are important in some cases, but they may be overstated. Results indicated that most Serbian consumers perceived that AFPEV as healthier and portray a positive attitude towards AFPEV thus showing a high willingness to pay higher prices. Serbian consumers seem to have a positive attitude towards organic, fair trade and typical products due to the sustainable benefits that they can bring about. Therefore, institutional and domestic market conditions should be improved for insuring long-term market development and information campaigns should be organised to increase Serbian consumers’ awareness and consciousness and to strengthen their positive attitude towards AFPEV

Indicators of tourism development of the Serbian danube region

Protected natural area in the Danube region covers 107,200 hectares and includes two national parks, two nature parks, one place of outstanding natural beauty, five special natural reserves, twenty-five nature monuments, and two sites of international significance included in the Ramsar list. However, only 140 immovable and 374 movable cultural objects are officially registered. There are 31 cultural objects of exceptional importance and national significance and 89 objects of great importance and regional significance. The objects with this status are protected by the state. Two sites are on the preliminary UNESCO World Heritage list. This paper discusses the potential of tourism industry in the Serbian Danube Region and the prospects of its further development. We outline the current state of tourism industry and describe the geographical location of the region, its natural and anthropogenic resources, and accommodation capacities. We analyse such data as the number of tourists and the number of overnight stays by municipalities in 2016, and the average length of stay. The indicators used are the functionality coefficient, the capacity utilization and the intensity of functionality. The conclusion is drawn that the tourism potential of the Serbian Danube Region is not fully realized and that its development should be at a much higher level, given the increasingly important role of the region as a major tourist destination in Serbia

TERRITORIAL GOVERNANCE IN RURAL BOSNIA: THE ROLE OF LOCAL INSTITUTIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS IN SARAJEVO\uad OMANIJA REGION

Rural economy in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is getting more diversified and it is slowly moving out from the traditional dependency on the agricultural sector. Although national and municipal budgets are still mainly focused on direct support to production, the number of organizations engaged in rural governance is rapidly growing and their role in policy design and delivery is getting increasingly important. The aim of this paper is to analyze the network and the coordination capacity of local agro-rural organisations operating in Sarajevo-Romanija region (SRr, BiH) and the level of inclusion of local community members' in these organizations. A set of policies and instruments to improve local institutions coordination is also proposed and discussed. Methodologically the paper is based on an extended desk research, on a number of interviews with sectoral experts and local administrators and on a field survey focusing on 35 households in seven municipalities of SRr

Apropiación social de ecotecnologías en comunidades vulnerables : caso de estudio filtros cerámicos para el acceso al agua segura en la vivienda

El presente proyecto de investigación en Ciencias Ambientales está relacionado con el diseño y aplicación de un sistema metodológico para la apropiación social de tecnologías ambientales en comunidades vulnerables. Dicho sistema metodológico se diseñó basado en un enfoque sistémico, holístico, integrador e interdisciplinario que permita reducir la brecha existente entre la ciencia y la tecnología y las problemáticas ambientales cotidianas de las comunidades más vulnerables. La aplicación del sistema metodológico para la apropiación social de tecnologías ambientales se llevó a cabo mediante el proceso de apropiación social de filtros cerámicos impregnados con plata coloidal (CWF por sus siglas en inglés) por parte de familias indígenas de la vereda Cantarrana del Gran Resguardo Indígena unificado Emberá Chamí de Mistrató, Risaralda-Colombia. Como resultado del proceso de apropiación social de los filtros cerámicos con plata coloidal (CWF) por parte de las familias indígenas Emberá Chamí se puede afirmar que de acuerdo con el Índice de Apropiación Social de Tecnologías Ambientales (IASTA) propuesto y obtenido para dicho proceso (61%) hubo un nivel medio de apropiación social de la tecnología ambiental de filtros cerámicos en las familias Emberá Chamí de la vereda Cantarrana de Mistrató-Risaralda

Apropiación social de ecotecnologías en comunidades vulnerables : caso de estudio filtros cerámicos para el acceso al agua segura en la vivienda

El presente proyecto de investigación en Ciencias Ambientales está relacionado con el diseño y aplicación de un sistema metodológico para la apropiación social de tecnologías ambientales en comunidades vulnerables. Dicho sistema metodológico se diseñó basado en un enfoque sistémico, holístico, integrador e interdisciplinario que permita reducir la brecha existente entre la ciencia y la tecnología y las problemáticas ambientales cotidianas de las comunidades más vulnerables. La aplicación del sistema metodológico para la apropiación social de tecnologías ambientales se llevó a cabo mediante el proceso de apropiación social de filtros cerámicos impregnados con plata coloidal (CWF por sus siglas en inglés) por parte de familias indígenas de la vereda Cantarrana del Gran Resguardo Indígena unificado Emberá Chamí de Mistrató, Risaralda-Colombia. Como resultado del proceso de apropiación social de los filtros cerámicos con plata coloidal (CWF) por parte de las familias indígenas Emberá Chamí se puede afirmar que de acuerdo con el Índice de Apropiación Social de Tecnologías Ambientales (IASTA) propuesto y obtenido para dicho proceso (61%) hubo un nivel medio de apropiación social de la tecnología ambiental de filtros cerámicos en las familias Emberá Chamí de la vereda Cantarrana de Mistrató-Risaralda

Evaluation performance of ballistic movements - variables for assessement the accuracy and kicking velocity

Primarni cilj izvršenih istraživanja je bio da se ispita pouzdanost i osetljivost varijabli za direktnu procenu preciznosti i brzine šuta, kao dve važne karakteristike šuta. Sekundarni cilj ovih istraživanja je bio da se utvrdi minimalan broj ponavljanja koji je dovoljan za prihvatljivu pouzdanost podataka u protokolima za procenu preciznosti i brzine šuta. Pouzdanost varijabli za direktnu procenu preciznosti i brzine šuta u fudbalu (Eksperiment 1) U istraživanju pouzdanosti varijabli za procenu preciznosti i brzine šuta testirane su hipoteze: 1) varijable za direktnu procenu preciznosti, zasnovane na merenju standardnih grešaka, imaju umerenu pouzdanost i 2) varijable za direktnu procenu brzine šuta imaju visoku pouzdanost. U istraživanju su učestvovala 53 fudbalera, sa šireg spiska nacionalne selekcije uzrasta 12 i 13 godina. Apsolutna (AG), konstantna (KG) i varijabilna (VG) greška su korišćene za procenu sposobnosti pogađanja u metu, dok su brzina leta lopte pri maksimalnom šutu (BLLmax), brzina leta lopte pri preciznom šutiranju (BLLprec), kao i međusobni odnos ove dve varijable (BLLprec/BLLmax) korišćeni za vrednovanje brzine šuta. Rezultati pouzdanosti i minimalanog broja ponavljanja, dobijeni u ovom istraživanju, ukazali su da AG i VG mogu biti varijable korišćene u rutinskim testiranjima za procenu karakteristika šuta. Nasuprot tome, utvrđeno je da zbog izuzetno niske pouzdanosti KG nije dovoljno dobra varijabla za korišćenje u rutinskim testiranjima procene preciznosti. Kada su u pitanju varijable brzine šuta nogom BLLmax, BLLprec i BLLprec/BLLmax, one mogu biti korišćene u rutinskim testiranjima karakteristika šuta, na šta su ukazali pouzdanost rezultata i potreban minimalan broj ponavljanja. Na osnovu dobijenih rezultata može se zaključiti da su varijable za direktnu procenu preciznosti i brzine šuta evaluirane i prihvatljive za dalju primenu u istraživanjima, kao i u praksi, gde se mogu koristiti u kreiranju valjanih i efikasnih vii protokola testiranja, posebno kada se uvaže podaci o predikciji broja neophodnih ponavljanja...The primary aim of the present study was to investigate the reliability and sensitivity of variables for the direct assessment of the kicking accuracy and velocity, while the secondary aim was to determine the minimum number of repetitions that is sufficient for acceptable reliability of the applied protocols for assessing the kicking accuracy and velocity. Reliability of the variables for direct assessement of kicking performance in soccer (Study 1) In this study we tested two hypotheses: 1) the variables for the direct assessment of kicking accuracy based on the measurement of the standard errors will reveal moderate reliability, while 2) the variables for direct assessment of the kicking velocites will reveal highly reliability. The study included 53 young soccer players who were the members of the wider selection of national team aged 12 and 13 years. Absolute error (AE), variable error (VE), and constant error (CE) were evaluated as the variables of kicking accuracy, whereas the kicking velocity variables involved the maximum ball velocity (BVmax), the ball velocity during accurate kicks (BVacc) and their mutual ratio (BVacc/BVmax). Results suggested low-to-moderate reliability of the accuracy and high reliability of the velocity variables. Since the evaluated variables should have a property of face validity, the findings obtained generally suggest that AE (and perhaps VE, as the measures of kicking accuracy), and BVmax, BVacc and BVacc/BVmax (as the measures of kicking velocity) could be used for routine testing of kicking performance in soccer. Further development of the evaluated variables of kicking performance could be based on the involvement of other kicking techniques, as well as on the testing the athletes of different ages, levels of skill, or sport specialization..

Diseño de una propuesta de proyecto de acción regional de educación, formación y sensibilización de públicos sobre cambio climático en el departamento de Risaralda

El Proyecto de Acción Regional de Educación, Formación y Sensibilización de Públicos sobre Cambio Climático en el Departamento de Risaralda, orienta la implementación y ejecución de acciones tendientes a transformar los hábitos y costumbres de la sociedad de Risaralda relacionados con las causas y consecuencias del fenómeno de cambio climático a nivel regional y local. Dicho proyecto ha sido formulado en armonía y coherencia con la Política Nacional de Educación Ambiental, la Estrategia Nacional de Educación, Formación y Sensibilización de Públicos sobre Cambio Climático y el Plan Decenal de Educación Ambiental de Risaralda; siguiendo las recomendaciones y lineamientos establecidos por el Programa de Trabajo de Nueva Delhi sobre el Articulo 6 de la Convención Marco de Naciones Unidas sobre Cambio climático. La Corporación Autónoma Regional de Risaralda (CARDER) máxima autoridad ambiental a nivel regional es la responsable de la implementación y coordinación de los Subproyectos que componen al proyecto de acción regional; dichos Subproyectos son los siguientes: 1) Comunicación Ambiental Institucional sobre Cambio Climático de la CARDER, 2) Formación y Capacitación sobre Cambio Climático en el Departamento de Risaralda, 3) Transversalización del Cambio Climático en políticas públicas e instrumentos de gestión secto-territorial, 4) Fortalecimiento y Consolidación de grupos, semilleros y proyectos de investigación aplicada en Cambio Climático en Risaralda, y 5) Estrategia Departamental de cooperación internacional para el financiamiento de políticas y planes de adaptación y mitigación del cambio Climático.The Regional Action Project Education, Training and Public Awareness on Climate Change in the Department of Risaralda, allows the implementation and execution of actions to transform the habits and customs of the society of Risaralda related to the causes and consequences of the phenomenon climate change at regional and local level. This project was designed in accordance and consistent with the National Environmental Education Policy, the National Strategy for Education, Training and Public Awareness on Climate Change and the Ten Year Plan for Environmental Education in Risaralda, following the recommendations and guidelines established by the Work Program of New Delhi about Article 6 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Regional Autonomous Corporation of Risaralda (CARDER) maximum regional environmental authority is responsible for the implementation and coordination of the programs that make up the draft regional action, these subprojects are: Institutional Environmental 1) Communication on Climate Change of CARDER, 2) Education and Training on Climate Change in the Department of Risaralda, 3) Mainstreaming Climate Change in public policy and management tools-territorial sectors, 4) Strengthening and consolidation of groups, nurseries and applied research projects on climate change in Risaralda, and 5) Cooperation Departmental Strategy International financing policies and plans for adaptation and mitigation of climate change

Comparative effects of pravastatin and rosuvastatin on carbohydrate metabolism in an experimental diabetic rat model

Statin treatment may increase the risk of diabetes; there is insufficient data on how statins affect glucose regulation and glycemic control and the effects of statins on liver enzymes related to carbohydrate metabolism have not been fully studied. Therefore, we aimed to compare the effects of the statin derivatives, pravastatin, and rosuvastatin, on carbohydrate metabolism in an experimental diabetic rat model. Female Wistar albino rats were used and diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. Thereafter, 10 and 20 mg kg–1 day–1 doses of both pravastatin and rosuvastatin were administered by oral gavage to the diabetic rats for 8 weeks. At the end of the experiment, body masses, the levels of fasting blood glucose, serum insulin, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), liver glycogen, and liver enzymes related to carbohydrate metabolism were measured. Both doses of pravastatin significantly increased the body mass in diabetic rats, however, rosuvastatin, especially at the dose of 20 mg kg–1 day–1 reduced the body mass significantly. Pravastatin, especially at a dose of 20 mg kg–1 day–1, caused significant increases in liver glycogen synthase and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase levels but significant decreases in the levels of glycogen phosphorylase, lactate dehydrogenase, and glucose-6-phosphatase. Hence, pravastatin partially ameliorated the adverse changes in liver enzymes caused by diabetes and, especially at the dose of 20 mg kg–1 day–1, reduced the fasting blood glucose level and increased the liver glycogen content. However, rosuvastatin, especially at the dose of 20 mg kg–1 day–1, significantly reduced the liver glycogen synthase and pyruvate kinase levels, but increased the glycogen phosphorylase level in diabetic rats. Rosuvastatin, 20 mg kg–1 day–1 dose, caused significant decreases in the body mass and the liver glycogen content of diabetic rats. It can be concluded that pravastatin, especially at the dose of 20 mg kg–1 day–1 is more effective in ameliorating the negative effects of diabetes by modulating carbohydrate metabolism

Uticaj brzine vazdušne struje i kretanja orošivača na kvalitet zaštite

The experiment conducted in the vineyard using sprayers was aimed at analysing the effect of air flow rate and sprayer movement rate on pesticide droplets deposition on leaf surface. The concentration used was 350 l/ha. Ventilator capacity was changed obtaining the following air flow rates in front of vineyard rows: 5.2; 7.5; 9.8 and 13.5 m/s. Air flow rates were combined with different sprayer movement rates (5.8 and 8.5 km/ha) in order to obtain eight variants. Increasing sprayer movement rate from 5.8 to 8.5 kg/h tended to raise pesticide droplets deposition by 25% in the row facing the sprayer, or 10% on the opposite side of the row. It can be concluded that droplets deposition on the leaf surface was the greatest at the sprayer movement rate of 5.8 kg/ha and air flow rate ranging from 8 to 10 m/s.Eksperiment realizovan u vinogradu primenom orošivača imao je za cilj da odredi uticaj brzine vazduha i brzine kretanja agregata na depoziciju zaštitne tečnosti na lisnoj površini. Eksperiment je realizovan sa normom tretiranja od 350 l/ha. Menjajući kapacitet ventilatora pomoću broja obrtaja rotora, ostvarene su brzine vazduha neposredno ispred reda vinograda: 5,2; 7,5; 9,8; i 13,5 m/s. Kombinacijom navedenih brzina vazduha sa brzinama kretanja orošivača od 5,8 i 8,5 km/h dobijeno je osam varijanti ogleda. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da povećanje brzine kretanja orošivača sa 5,8 km/h na 8,5 km/h depozicija na lisnu površinu se povećava i do 25% na strani reda prema orošivaču odnosno oko 10% na suprotnoj strani reda. Na osnovu rezultata istraživanja zaključuje se da je najveća depozicija na lisnu površinu ostvarena pri brzini orošivača od 5,8 km/ha i brzini vazduha ispred reda u opsegu od 8 do 10 m/s

Agricultural Extension and Advisory System in Sudan: a Review

Sudanese government attaches great importance to extension services. The review paper provides an overview on agricultural extension and advisory system (AEAS) in Sudan. It focuses on extension history, policy framework and governance, financing, human resources, gender, approaches and methods. In 1958, after Sudan’s independence, a national agricultural extension system was established. Extension services are almost entirely public. Main extension services providers are the federal Technology Transfer and Extension Administration (TTEA) and the General Directorate of Extension, Technology Transfer and Pastoralists’ Development. Moreover, each Sudanese federal state has a decentralised extension system. Sudan tried different extension approaches such as Commodity Development, Training & Visit and Farmers’ Field School. Primary extension methods include field visits, demos, workshops and field days. The main problem faced by Sudanese extension system is low extension workers’ number. It is crucial to strengthen linkages with agricultural research system and to improve coordination among institutions dealing with extension