Single Farm Payment in the European Union and its Implications on New Zealand Dairy and Beef Trade

The 2003 reform of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) replaced the coupled direct support schemes by a Single Farm Payment (SFP), which will be mainly delivered to farmers irrespective of what they produce (hence 'decoupled' from production). The level of decoupling differs among the Member States. This paper assesses the implementation of the SFP across Member States and how far it has been decoupled. The expected changes in the European Union's and New Zealand's trade in dairy products and beef resulting from the 2003 reform of the CAP are simulated, using a partial equilibrium trade model (Lincoln Trade and Environment Model; LTEM).Single Farm Payment, European Union, New Zealand, Common Agricultural Policy, Direct payments, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade,

Surface and Interface Characterization of Solution-Processed Metal Oxides and PEDOT:PSS Using Photoelectron Spectroscopy

Solution-processed materials are appealing for use in printable electronics as a means to lower production costs, but precise control of the process is crucial for achieving the desired properties in the final materials and their interfaces. Electronic interface properties depend on both the involved materials and their fabrication processes, impacting the development and commercialization of these materials. Analyzing the chemical and electronic structure of these materials, particularly at the surfaces and interfaces, is important not only for insuring that the materials have the desired properties, but also for understanding the effects of the fabrication process and how to modify properties via processing for specific applications. To gain such insights into the chemical and electronic properties at the surface, photoelectron spectroscopy and inverse photoemission spectroscopy have proven to be powerful techniques. In the first part of this research, indium-based transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) were prepared by spin-coating precursor solutions of metal-acetylacetonate coordination complexes onto glass substrates. The precursor films were converted into TCO films by annealing in ambient air or in dry nitrogen. These were characterized with X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Ultraviolet Photoelectron Spectroscopy (UPS), and Inverse Photoemission Spectroscopy (IPES). The observed surface chemistries and electronic structures are reported, and the effects of ambient environment, low-energy (50 eV) ion treatments, and heating in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) will be discussed. The second part of this dissertation explores the surfaces of, and the interface between, two materials widely used in printable organic electronics: indium tin oxide (ITO) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS). Spin coating was used to fabricate thin films of both ITO and PEDOT:PSS, which were then characterized using XPS, UPS, and IPES. Inhomogeneities in the PEDOT:PSS films involving differing ratios of PEDOT to PSS were observed using XPS, and the work function at different points on individual samples was measured. The impact of these findings on the surface electronic properties and the implications for printable electronic devices will be discussed

The global electroweak fit at NNLO and prospects for the LHC and ILC

For a long time, global fits of the electroweak sector of the Standard Model (SM) have been used to exploit measurements of electroweak precision observables at lepton colliders (LEP, SLC), together with measurements at hadron colliders (Tevatron, LHC), and accurate theoretical predictions at multi-loop level, to constrain free parameters of the SM, such as the Higgs and top masses. Today, all fundamental SM parameters entering these fits are experimentally determined, including information on the Higgs couplings, and the global fits are used as powerful tools to assess the validity of the theory and to constrain scenarios for new physics. Future measurements at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and the International Linear Collider (ILC) promise to improve the experimental precision of key observables used in the fits. This paper presents updated electroweak fit results using newest NNLO theoretical predictions, and prospects for the LHC and ILC. The impact of experimental and theoretical uncertainties is analysed in detail. We compare constraints from the electroweak fit on the Higgs couplings with direct LHC measurements, and examine present and future prospects of these constraints using a model with modified couplings of the Higgs boson to fermions and bosons.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figure

Intermixing at the InxSy/Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 Heterojunction and Its Impact on the Chemical and Electronic Interface Structure

We report on the chemical and electronic structure of the interface between a thermally co-evaporated InxSy buffer and a Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 (CZTSSe) absorber for thin-film solar cells. To date, such cells have achieved energy conversion efficiencies up to 8.6%. Using surface-sensitive X-ray and UV photoelectron spectroscopy, combined with inverse photoemission and bulk-sensitive soft X-ray emission spectroscopy, we find a complex character of the buffer layer. It includes oxygen, as well as selenium and copper that diffused from the absorber into the InxSy buffer, exhibits an electronic band gap of 2.50 ± 0.18 eV at the surface, and leads to a small cliff in the conduction band alignment at the InxSy/CZTSSe interface. After an efficiency-increasing annealing step at 180 °C in nitrogen atmosphere, additional selenium diffusion leads to a reduced band gap at the buffer layer surface (2.28 ± 0.18 eV)

Diffusion of tax-related communication on social media

Taxation is a recurrent topic in people's conversations, also on social media. Yet, informal channels such as social media have been widely neglected in studies that examined how information about taxation spreads across social networks. Using posts on Twitter (currently called “X”) with taxation related hashtags from 2010 to 2020, we examined what linguistic cues are associated with information diffusion, that is, the number of retweets a message receives. The use of emotional, moral, and moral-emotional language in a tweet was associated with greater diffusion (i.e., more retweets). In contrast to the negativity bias literature, positive emotional words were more strongly associated with information diffusion than negative emotional words. Among the specific emotions that taxation research has focused on, only the use of anger (but not anxiety) words was associated with more retweets. The study contributes to the literature by examining individuals’ reasoning about taxes

Perceptions of trust and power are associated with tax compliance:A cross-cultural study

The slippery slope framework (SSF) of tax compliance postulates that taxpayers’ compliance behaviour depends on the two dimensions: trust in authorities and power of authorities. In an attempt to overcome common-method biases, the present study tests the main assumptions of the SSF with a sample of 44 countries/regions. Country/region-level trust and power indices are calculated based on experimental data involving 14,509 participants and related to shadow economy estimates and – as an alternative indicator of non-compliance – corruption indices. The results indicate that both trust and power are negatively related to the size of the shadow economy and the extent of corruption. These results emphasise the importance of both SSF dimensions in combating tax evasion and counterproductive behaviour within a society in general

Mapping Patent Classifications: Portfolio and Statistical Analysis, and the Comparison of Strengths and Weaknesses

The Cooperative Patent Classifications (CPC) jointly developed by the European and US Patent Offices provide a new basis for mapping and portfolio analysis. This update provides an occasion for rethinking the parameter choices. The new maps are significantly different from previous ones, although this may not always be obvious on visual inspection. Since these maps are statistical constructs based on index terms, their quality--as different from utility--can only be controlled discursively. We provide nested maps online and a routine for portfolio overlays and further statistical analysis. We add a new tool for "difference maps" which is illustrated by comparing the portfolios of patents granted to Novartis and MSD in 2016.Comment: Scientometrics 112(3) (2017) 1573-1591; http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11192-017-2449-

Financial and Technical Analyses of Solar Boats as A Means of Sustainable Transportation

Because of the effects of climate change, a sustainable transportation system based on renewable energy resources needs to be developed to improve the quality of life. In this study, three sustainable transportation designs and an on-grid power plant design using photovoltaic (PV) panels were analyzed for their feasibility as an alternative to diesel-powered tourist boats. Various financial and technical aspects were considered, such as the local irradiation, energy yield, and system energy loss. As a case study, a solar-aided boat was considered, where an off-grid rooftop PV system with 9.8 kWh batteries was installed to meet the energy requirements for internal services and reduce diesel usage. The solar-aided boat was demonstrated to be an economical solution, where the PV system reduced the diesel consumption of the boat by 15% and produced an annual energy output of 5540 kWh. For fully electric solar boats, simulation results showed that a 60 kWh battery system covers the initial investment within 9 years, while a solar boat with 120 kWh a battery system covers it in 13 years. A 300 kW on-grid PV plant was analyzed for its ability to meet the energy demands of an entire tourist boat fleet, and the plant was estimated to reduce CO2 emissions by 330 tons each year. These findings show that various off-grid rooftop PV systems can be adapted for sustainable transportation while reducing the operating costs of the boat. This study also promotes the transition of boats to cleaner and more sustainable energy sources. © 202

Methane Decomposition and Carbon Growth on Y₂O₃, Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia, and ZrO₂

Carbon deposition following thermal methane decomposition under dry and steam reforming conditions has been studied on yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), Y2O3 and ZrO2 by a range of different chemical, structural and spectroscopic characterization techniques, including aberration-corrected electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, electric impedance spectroscopy and volumetric adsorption techniques. Concordantly, all experimental techniques reveal the formation of a conducting layer of disordered nanocrystalline graphite covering the individual grains of the respective pure oxides after treatment in dry methane at temperatures T ≥ 1000 K. In addition, treatment under moist methane conditions causes additional formation of carbon-nanotube-like architectures by partial detachment of the graphite layers. All experiments show that during carbon growth, no substantial reduction of any of the oxides takes place. Our results therefore indicate that these pure oxides can act as efficient nonmetallic substrates for methane-induced growth of different carbon species with potentially important implications regarding their use in solid oxide fuel cells. By comparison of the three oxides we could moreover elucidate differences in the methane reactivities of the respective SOFC-relevant purely oxidic surfaces under typical SOFC operation conditions without the presence of metallic constituents

Geography and Branding in the Craft Beer Industry

Place-based branding strategies are important marketing tools for both regions and firms and take advantage of consumers’ embrace of the local in response to globalization. Craft brewing is a particularly salient user of these strategies and provides ample data. We find a strong, positive link between the number of place-based labels and a brewery’s rating, suggesting consumers are receptive to place-based branding.Check issue date and citation details on checkdate -- J