Exploring the Relations, Bargaining Forms and Dynamics of the EU Food Supply Chain under the Perspective of the Key Actors: Evidence from Greece and Denmark

 The objective of this paper is to offer qualitative and quantitative insights on the perceptions of the actors in the EU food supply chain on a broad spectrum of topics that characterise its operation and conduct, highlighting also potential differences in North and South European countries. Issues explored pertained to actors’ relations with up- and downstream partners, the future dynamic and challenges of the food sector, the influence of policy intervention and attitudes towards genetically modified products (GMPs) and organic production. For this purpose, a total of 34 food supply chain actors in Denmark and Greece were interviewed using a semi-structured interview process. A comparative analysis of the interviews pinpointed many similarities in the behaviour and the perceptions of the Greek and Danish farmers, cooperatives, processors and retailers alike. Still, while it is evident that companies and farmers of both countries struggle with a lot of the same problems, several differences in perceptions are also identified. These refer mainly to attitudes towards mergers and acquisitions, innovations, GMPs and the effects and limitations of EU policy intervention

Agricultural productivity growth in the Mediterranean and tests of convergence among countries

This paper measures agricultural productivity among a set of thirteen Mediterranean countries which includes two EU- 15 countries (Greece and Spain), another two EU- 25 (Cyprus and Malta) one country under accession negotiations (Turkey) and eight Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Syria and Tunisia) from 1961 to 2002. The objective of the paper is twofold: Firstly, to analyse agricultural productivity growth in the Mediterranean countries by means of the sequential Malmquist Total Factor Productivity (TFP) index and secondly, to investigate whether this measure is converging among these countries. In terms of the first objective, TFP indices are decomposed into efficiency changes and technical changes, in an attempt to identify the best - practise countries and the overall effect of technological improvements. In terms of the second, both cross- section and time series tests of convergence are applied. The former include the conventional β- and σ- convergence tests, while for the latter, a new method proposed by Nahar and Inder (2002) that allows for country - specific estimates is used. Neither test finds evidence for unconditional convergence, but two distinctive periods, one prior and one after 1980 are recognized. The time series approach identifies four countries to be converging to the mean and another two to be diverging.Productivity growth, sequential Malmquist TFP, convergence., Productivity Analysis,

Flow Cytometry as a Diagnostic Tool in the Early Diagnosis of Aggressive Lymphomas Mimicking Life-Threatening Infection

Aggressive lymphomas can present with symptoms mimicking life-threatening infection. Flow cytometry (FC) is usually recommended for the classification and staging of lymphomas in patients with organomegaly and atypical cells in effusions and blood, after the exclusion of other possible diagnoses. FC may also have a place in the initial diagnostic investigation of aggressive lymphoma. Three cases are presented here of highly aggressive lymphomas in young adults, which presented with the clinical picture of fever of unknown origin (FUO) in patients severely ill. All followed a life-threatening clinical course, and two developed the hemophagocytic syndrome (HPS), but microbiological, immunological, and morphological evaluation and immunohistochemistry (IHC) failed to substantiate an early diagnosis. FC was the technique that provided conclusive diagnostic evidence of lymphoma, subsequently verified by IHC. Our experience with these three cases highlights the potential role of FC as an adjunct methodology in the initial assessment of possible highly aggressive lymphoma presenting with the signs and symptoms of life-threatening infection, although the definitive diagnosis should be established by biopsy. In such cases, FC can contribute to the diagnosis of lymphoma, independently of the presence of HPS

Anthropological and ontological premises of political philosophy: the classical liberalism of John Locke and classical anarchism

The main subject of this thesis is the compatibility, or the incompatibility, of classical liberalism and classical anarchism, on the grounds of their anthropological and ontological premises.Στην εργασία αυτή εξετάζεται η σχέση συμβατότητας, ή μη, του κλασικού φιλελευθερισμού και του κλασικού αναρχισμού, στη βάση των ανθρωπολογικών και οντολογικών προϋποθέσεών τους

Food Market Value Analysis: Product Quality Improvement, Product Origin Protection and Timing Decisions in Apple Market

In an effective quality enhancement programme of fruit production and marketing, total quality firms must include consideration of those attributes that are important to customers. In this study the hedonic model is adopted, in order to examine the effects of product quality, region of origin and time of product availability on the price structure determination in the apple market in Greece. Results suggest increased marginal shadow values (customers' interest) for physical product quality and for product origin - particularly in the case of Volos region. There is no evidence that out-of-season time is an important factor determining product prices. Further, it is also shown that it is possible to use the hedonic analysis for the estimation of shadow value for some sales quality characteristics other than the physical ones

Exploring the Relations, Bargaining Forms and Dynamics of the EU Food Supply Chain under the Perspective of the Key Actors: Evidence from Greece and Denmark

&nbsp;The objective of this paper is to offer qualitative and quantitative insights on the perceptions of the actors in the EU food supply chain on a broad spectrum of topics that characterise its operation and conduct, highlighting also potential differences in North and South European countries. Issues explored pertained to actors&rsquo; relations with up- and downstream partners, the future dynamic and challenges of the food sector, the influence of policy intervention and attitudes towards genetically modified products (GMPs) and organic production. For this purpose, a total of 34 food supply chain actors in Denmark and Greece were interviewed using a semi-structured interview process. A comparative analysis of the interviews pinpointed many similarities in the behaviour and the perceptions of the Greek and Danish farmers, cooperatives, processors and retailers alike. Still, while it is evident that companies and farmers of both countries struggle with a lot of the same problems, several differences in perceptions are also identified. These refer mainly to attitudes towards mergers and acquisitions, innovations, GMPs and the effects and limitations of EU policy intervention. </p

An Empirical Investigation of Ethical Food Choices: A Qualitative Research Approach

Why do customers incorporate concerns about social and environmental issues into the decision-making process? How ethical are food choices in the modern world? Answers to these questions have often revolved around how informed consumers might be and whether they have the appropriate skills to act on concerns they might have. Today, ethical food consumption is a growing market where consumers’ behavior shifts from the rational manner focusing on the products price and attributes to the food ethics associated with environment, social welfare, public health, and morality. Using data selected from a purposive sample of 20 consumers, this study employed a qualitative research procedure to explore the main dimensions that influence the decision-making process and eating preferences in the post-COVID 19 era and within an economically turbulent environment. The main results showed that health protection, sustainability, and social wefare constitute the main axes of ethical food consumption. Participants were found to be more individualists than altruists since the “personal health” dimension was the most prevalent. Future research should extend these findings and explore variations in the ethical consumption factors among various consumer segments

Exploring the Relations, Bargaining Forms and Dynamics of the EU Food Supply Chain under the Perspective of the Key Actors: Evidence from Greece and Denmark

The objective of this paper is to offer qualitative and quantitative insights on the perceptions of the actors in the EU food supply chain on a broad spectrum of topics that characterise its operation and conduct, highlighting also potential differences in North and South European countries. Issues explored pertained to actors’ relations with up- and downstream partners, the future dynamic and challenges of the food sector, the influence of policy intervention and attitudes towards genetically modified products (GMPs) and organic production. For this purpose, a total of 34 food supply chain actors in Denmark and Greece were interviewed using a semi-structured interview process. A comparative analysis of the interviews pinpointed many similarities in the behaviour and the perceptions of the Greek and Danish farmers, cooperatives, processors and retailers alike. Still, while it is evident that companies and farmers of both countries struggle with a lot of the same problems, several differences in perceptions are also identified. These refer mainly to attitudes towards mergers and acquisitions, innovations, GMPs and the effects and limitations of EU policy intervention