TAXATION OF ALCOHOL AND CONSUMER ATTITUDE IS THE ECJ SOBER?

Institutional and Behavioral Economics,

Risk factors for equine fractures in Thoroughbred flat racing in North America

The aim of this paper is to identify risk factors associated with equine fractures in flat horse racing of Thoroughbreds in North America. Equine fractures were defined as any fracture sustained by a horse during a race. This was a cohort study that made use of all starts from the racecourses reporting injuries. The analysis was based on 2,201,152 racing starts that represent 91% of all official racing starts in the USA and Canada from 1 st January 2009–31 st December 2014. Approximately 3,990,000 workout starts made by the 171,523 Thoroughbreds that raced during that period were also included in the analysis. During this period the incidence of equine fractures was 2 per 1000 starts. The final multivariable logistic regression models identified risk factors significantly associated (p < 0.05) with equine fracture. For example, horses were found to have a 32% higher chance of sustaining a fracture when racing on a dirt surface compared to a synthetic surface; a 35% higher chance if they had sustained a previous injury during racing and a 47% higher chance was also found for stallions compared to mares and geldings. Furthermore, logistic regression models based on data available only from the period 2009–2013 were used to predict the probability of a Thoroughbred sustaining a fracture for 2014. The 5% of starts that had the highest score in our predictive models for 2014 were found to have 2.4 times (95% CI: 1.9–2.9) higher fracture prevalence than the mean fracture prevalence of 2014. The results of this study can be used to identify horses at higher risk on entering a race and could help inform the design and implementation of preventive measures aimed at minimising the number of Thoroughbreds sustaining fractures during racing in North America

Shallow Water Bathymetry Mapping from UAV Imagery based on Machine Learning

The determination of accurate bathymetric information is a key element for near offshore activities, hydrological studies such as coastal engineering applications, sedimentary processes, hydrographic surveying as well as archaeological mapping and biological research. UAV imagery processed with Structure from Motion (SfM) and Multi View Stereo (MVS) techniques can provide a low-cost alternative to established shallow seabed mapping techniques offering as well the important visual information. Nevertheless, water refraction poses significant challenges on depth determination. Till now, this problem has been addressed through customized image-based refraction correction algorithms or by modifying the collinearity equation. In this paper, in order to overcome the water refraction errors, we employ machine learning tools that are able to learn the systematic underestimation of the estimated depths. In the proposed approach, based on known depth observations from bathymetric LiDAR surveys, an SVR model was developed able to estimate more accurately the real depths of point clouds derived from SfM-MVS procedures. Experimental results over two test sites along with the performed quantitative validation indicated the high potential of the developed approach.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figure

EDA and EU defence procurement integration

The chapter reflects upon the ten years since the establishment of the European Defence Agency (EDA) and analyses its role in the process of European integration in the area of defence procurement. The chapter examines the various initiatives undertaken so far by the EDA in the process of Europeanisation of a policy area that has been linked to core functions of the state and for that reason, based upon a decision making process carried out primarily at national level. Contrary to received wisdom that the EDA’s impact and role has been of limited importance – particularly after the advent of the Defence and Security Procurement Directive 2009/81/EC, proposed by the European Commission and adopted by the Council of the EU and the European Parliament – the chapter argues that the EDA’s contribution in the process of European integration in the field of defence procurement has been especially noteworthy. The chapter submits in particular that the EDA played a crucial role in two ways: First, it demystified and rendered more acceptable the deliberation at the EU level of issues pertaining to the design, rules and policies of defence procurement. Second, by doing so it provided additional political “legitimisation” to the European integration process in this area which led to the enactment of the Defence and Security Procurement Directive. Finally the chapter argues that the EDA must continue its important contribution to the European defence procurement integration and identifies the areas that it may do so

The EU accession to the ECHR: an attempt to explore possible implications in the area of public procurement

The aim of this paper is two fold. First, it tries to map out the areas of potential interplay/interaction between public procurement and human rights. Second, it explores whether the prospective accession of the EU to the ECHR will have concrete consequences in the area of public procurement regulation and practice by creating new pathways/areas of intersections/interaction and/or strengthen existing ones, thus rendering them more attractive. Finally, it will argue that the EU’s accession might have a qualitative impact by assisting the shift in the balance between market freedoms and human rights that began with the coming into force of the Treaty of Lisbon and the European Charter of Fundamental Rights