Preferencias educativas de los estudiantes postgraduados ante los cambios del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior

La implantación del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior (EEES) ha provocado profundos cambios que atañen a nuevas concepciones del proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje. En este contexto, la técnica del Análisis Conjunto (AC) fue aplicada a una muestra de 179 postgraduados pertenecientes al Curso de Adaptación Pedagógica (CAP) 2007-2008, de la Universidad de Granada (UGR), con la intención de determinar sus preferencias hacia los cambios impuestos por el EEES. Los resultados muestran cómo las preferencias formativas de los estudiantes se centran en la adquisición de competencias para el desarrollo de habilidades, la presencialidad de las clases y un enfoque tutorial mediante seguimiento académico

Protest Responses and Willingness to Accept: Ecosystem Services Providers’ Preferences towards Incentive-Based Schemes

The identification and treatment of protest responses in stated preference surveys has long been subject to debate. We analyse protest responses while investigating ecosystem services providers’ preferences for incentive-based schemes. We use a choice experiment for olive farmers’ preferences for agri-environmental scheme participation in southern Spain. Our two main objectives are: first, to identify and discuss a range of possible motives for protest responses that emerge in a WTA context; second, we analyse the impact on WTA estimates of censoring serial non-participation linked to protest or high compensation requirements (very high takers). Using a random parameter logit model in WTA space, we find that the inclusion or exclusion of serial non-participants in the analysis can have a significant impact on marginal and total WTA estimates. Based on the findings, the paper makes recommendations on how to reduce the incidence of protest responses through survey design, regarding the identification of protesters as opposed to very high takers, and regarding the treatment of both groups of respondents for WTA estimation

Tipología de las zonas regables de la demarcación hidrográfica del Guadalquivir

La agricultura de regadío en la Demarcación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir (DHG) ha sufrido un importante proceso de cambio en las últimas dos décadas, caracterizado fundamentalmente por la irrupción del olivar y la modernización de las zonas regables. Ello ha resultado en un aumento de la superficie regada, que prácticamente se ha doblado hasta sobrepasar ampliamente las 800.000 ha, y en el consecuente incremento de la demanda de agua. Estos cambios, entre otros, no han hecho sino enriquecer la variedad de sistemas agrarios de regadío que conviven en la DHG y que pueden presentar características diferenciales. Este contexto de cambio justifica la necesidad de actualizar el conocimiento de estos sistemas. En consecuencia, en el presente trabajo se propone una tipología de las zonas regables de la DHG. Para ello se ha utilizado el Inventario de Regadíos de 2008, empleándose como unidad básica de agrupación las unidades de agregación de recintos (UAs), que componen dicho inventario, y como variables de agrupación, las variables estructurales y de distribución de cultivos de estas unidades. De esta forma, se ha obtenido una tipología que muestra cinco grupos internamente homogéneos y diferentes entre sí, y que capta a su vez la esencia del proceso de cambio mencionado. Por consiguiente, esta tipología se revela como una herramienta útil para su empleo en análisis dirigidos al apoyo de toma de decisiones, básicamente relativas a políticas públicas (tanto hidrológica como agraria), encaminados hacia una mejor gobernanza del regadío en la DHG

A consumer behaviour approach to analyse handmade and locally made agrifood products in Western Honduras

[EN] This research analyses consumer behaviour related to the purchase of handmade and locally made agrifood products in Western Honduras (Occidental Region). A relational model was built, and structural equation modelling (SEM) by means of variance-based partial least squares (PLS) path modelling was applied. The existence of a mediator variable was also examined. The results showed that the consumption of handmade and locally made agrifood products increases for consumers who read nutrition labels and health claim information and for those with higher income and who are younger.[ES] La presente investigación analiza el comportamiento del consumidor en relación con la compra de productos elaborados de forma artesanal y local en el área occidental de Honduras (Región Occidental). Para ello, ha sido diseñado un modelo relacional y aplicada la metodología de Ecuaciones Estructurales por regresión de mínimos cuadrados parciales (PLS) basada en varianza, comprobándose la existencia de una variable mediadora. Los resultados indican que el consumo de productos agrarios artesanales y locales aumenta cuando se considera en la elección de compra la información nutricional y alegaciones beneficiosas para la salud, se tienen mayores ingresos y se es más joven.Salazar-Ordóñez, M.; Cordón-Pedregosa, R.; Rodríguez-Entrena, M. (2019). A consumer behaviour approach to analyse handmade and locally made agrifood products in Western Honduras. Economía Agraria y Recursos Naturales - Agricultural and Resource Economics. 18(2):5-27. https://doi.org/10.7201/earn.2018.02.01SWORD52718

Flipped Classroom in higher education: Do the students’ field of knowledge influence on their own perception and preferences?

El objetivo es profundizar en el conocimiento de la percepción y preferencias del alumnado de grado hacia la técnica de flipped classroom como alternativa a las clases tradicionales magistrales, pero en un entorno on-line. Además, se examinan las diferencias entre dos ramas de formación: ciencias sociales e ingeniería; manteniendo la edad y género como variables control. Así, la muestra de 133 alumnos de la Universidad de Córdoba se analizó mediante técnicas estadísticas, mostrando que con esta metodología se percibió una mayor flexibilidad y capacidad de auto organización. También aparecieron diferencias entre ramas de formación.This paper aims to improve knowledge of the undergraduate students’ perception and preferences towards the flipped classroom as an alternative of the conventional teaching, but in an on-line environment. Furthermore, the differences between the abovementioned perceptions and preferences were researched according to students’ field of literacy: social science and engineering; including age and gender as control variables. The sample of 133 students from the University of Córdoba was analysed using statistical techniques. The results showed the students perceived higher flexibility and self-organization skills when flipped classroom was applied and some differences were also found according to the field of literacy

Unraveling determinants of inferred and stated attribute non-attendance: effects on farmers’ willingness to accept to join agri-environmental schemes

Attribute non-attendance (ANA) has received very little attention in the context of willingness to accept (WTA), although an increasing number of studies analyze the preferences of ecosystem service providers towards incentive-based schemes. We add to the understanding of ANA behavior by analyzing stated and inferred ANA in a choice experiment investigating farmers’ WTA for participating in agri-environmental schemes (AES) in southern Spain. We use mixed logit models, following Hess and Hensher (2010) for the inferred ANA approach. Evidence is found of ANA behavior for both stated and inferred approaches, with models accounting for ANA clearly outperforming those that do not account for it; however, we produce no conclusive results as to which ANA approach is best. WTA estimates are only moderately affected, which to some extent is consistent with the low level of non-attendance found for the monetary attribute. Stated and inferred approaches show very similar WTA estimates. Additionally, we investigate sources of observed heterogeneity related to ANA behavior by using a sequence of bivariate probit models for each attribute. Overall, our results hint at a positive relationship between ease of scheme adoption and non-attendance to attributes. However, further research is still needed in this field

The design of agri-environmental schemes: Farmers’ preferences in southern Spain

Paper accepted to be published in Land Use Policy (ISSN: 0264-8377)Agri-environmental schemes (AES) play a key role in promoting the production of environmental public goods by European Union agriculture. Although extensive literature has analyzed AES, some important issues remain understudied. This paper performs an ex-ante assessment of AES in permanent cropping, analyzing several issues that have received little attention from researchers, such as ecological focus areas (EFA) and collective participation. For this purpose, a choice experiment was used to assess farmers’ preferences toward AES in a case study of olive groves in southern Spain. Results show high heterogeneity among farmers, with different classes being identified, from potential participants to non-participants. As regards EFA, almost half of the farmers would be willing to accept it for low monetary incentives (€8-9/ha per additional 1% of the farmland devoted to EFA) while the rest would do it for moderate-to-high monetary incentives (€41-151/ha per additional 1% of EFA). However, for a high share of EFA (e.g., 5-7%) higher incentives would presumably be required due to the intrinsic spatial restrictions of olive groves. With regard to collective participation, we find that it is unlikely that farmers would participate collectively with the incentive of the up-to-30% EU-wide bonus. These results are relevant for policy-making now when new AES are being designed for the next programming period 2014-2020.This research is co-financed by the Spanish Ministry of Economics and Competitiveness (MINECO) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the project MERCAGUA (AGL2013-48080-C2-1-R)

Spatial analysis of demand for sparsely-located ecosystem services using alternative index approaches

This study is focused on the effects of spatial discounting and substitute sites on the demand for ecosystem services (ES) provided by scattered agroecosystems. New ways of modelling these two effects are proposed, relying on area-based and density-based indexes. Data from discrete choice experiments are used, based on a case study of Andalusian olive groves (southern Spain). The results show that model fit is significantly improved by the introduction of these spatial indexes, with the best outcome found for the area-based index combined with the inverse of the distance. Results provide evidence of substantial spatial heterogeneity depending on the ES (carbon sequestration, soil conservation and biodiversity), indicating different economic jurisdiction