Computing vs. Genetics

This chapter first presents the interrelations between computing and genetics, which both are based on information and, particularly, self-reproducing artificial systems. It goes on to examine genetic code from a computational viewpoint. This raises a number of important questions about genetic code. These questions are stated in the form of an as yet unpublished working hypothesis. This hypothesis suggests that many genetic alterations are caused by the last base of certain codons. If this conclusive hypothesis were to be confirmed through experiementation if would be a significant advance for treating many genetic diseases

Marginal Farmers and Agri-Environmental Schemes: Evaluating Policy Design Adequacy for the Environmental Fallow Measure

This paper examines the factors affecting farmer's participation in an agri-environmental scheme (AES) in marginal areas implying few changes in the traditional farm management (environmental fallow). The enrolment theoretical micro-economic model reveals that farmers` (extrinsic) factors as well as decision maker's (intrinsic) factors are important for farmer's participation, without disregarding the role of social capital. The farm and farmer characteristics (intrinsic factors) as well as the influence of the social capital have been tested trough the specification and estimation of an adoption model for dry-land marginal farmers in Granada (southern Spain). 300 farmers with cereal dry-land specialization have been surveyed in order to identify factors influencing their enrolment decision and to derive scheme design modifications to improve the AES success, understood as participation rate. Due to the fact that the effects of applying this measure do not have significant effect on the food and animal production, the participation decision is hypothesized to be mainly driven by the farmer's attitude reflecting the importance of the social capital in order to educate farmers. Nevertheless, AES interaction with other agricultural policies, such as LFA compensatory payments, restraints the possibility of this scheme's success specially when these payments imply greater financial resources. Further research is needed to see whether this same pattern holds when considering AES implying a more intensive change in the farm management.Agri-environmental policy, participation, marginal areas, policy design, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Fixed costs involved in crop pattern changes and agri-environmental schemes

Agri-environmental schemes are the main policy instrument currently available in the European Union to promote environmentally friendly farming practices. Nevertheless, the adoption rate of these measures is still limited. This paper develops a profit maximizer theoretical framework to explain the farmer’s sign-up decision and the area to put under an agri-environmental measure characterised by a change in the crop pattern. The application concerns an agri-environmental measure awarding the introduction of alfalfa in cereal farms in Natura 2000 designated areas of Aragon (Spain). The econometric specification accounts for both the upper censoring of the enrolled area, constrained by the available eligible area, and the self-selection of contractors according to the extra-profit of their enrolment. To test the absence of fixed costs of enrolment, a simple tobit with a lower and an upper bound, that corresponds to the non fixed costs situation, is compared to the censored model with selection. Estimated specifications based on the enrolled area do not provided normally distributed residues and are not suitable to carry out the likelihood ratio test. Estimated specifications based on the share of enrolled area in the eligible area provide normally distributed residues. The likelihood ratio test rejects the absence of fixed costs. Technical factors as well as social capital variables are taken into consideration as determinants of technical and transaction costs. Estimation results show that there is an adoption barrier derived from the know-how affecting the fixed compliance costs of introducing the new crop. In addition, there is an adoption barrier derived from transaction costs which are reduced in the presence of social networks. These results suggest that a non linear payment mechanism or auctions might be suitable to ensure a better coverage of Natura 2000 eligible areas by the contracts, with a limited increase in related public expenditures.agri-environmental scheme, land use, fixed costs, transaction costs, qualitative and limited dependent variable model

Re-considering Agri-Environmental Schemes premiums: the impact of fixed costs in sign-up decisions

Current EU legislation states that premiums for agri-environmental schemes must be calculated based on forgone profit and additional costs. This approach has been implemented for the last decades without much success in farmer uptake, a situation that might even worsen as the 20% additional payment as incentive for participation has been excluded in the new EU Rural Development Framework 2007-2013. This paper tries to explain why supply side estimated premiums might not suffice to assure farm profitability investigating the role that fixed costs have on adoption. A farm profit maximizing model is proposed where fixed and transaction costs are split from variations in marginal profit. This model is then developed to identify the potential barriers to adoption associated with the presence of fixed compliance costs. A sample of farmers eligible for an agri-environmental scheme entailing a land-use change is used to test whether the theoretical models are valid for explaining adoption decisions. Two different econometric specifications are used to identify the role of fixed costs, one assuming that uptake and surface decisions are governed by the same variables and another distinguishing both decisions. Estimation results show that there is an adoption barrier derived from the initial farm technical assets and know-how affecting the fixed compliance costs of introducing the new crop. Therefore not compensating for fixed costs can curtail agri-environmental policy success. In addition, there is an adoption barrier derived from transaction costs which are reduced in the presence of social networks.Agri-environmental schemes, fixed costs, adoption, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Farfetch - where disruptive innovation meets luxury fashion

The present Equity Research serves the purpose of performinga valuation of Farfetch, the leadingtechnology platform for the global luxury fashion industry. The valuation was performed consideringthe company’s bulls–it belongsto an expanding market;it followsthe market trends; it disruptsthe market–and itsbears–it might not sustain high takerates in thefuture; the possible negative effect of itsmergers and acquisitionsstrategy;Brexit.After analysing the company and the market, a Discounted Cash Flowmodel was built. Our final recommendationis a Buy, with a price targetof $16.98

Incorporating Uncertainty and Cero Values into the Valuation of Protected Areas and Species

Under the Spanish conservation law, compensation is envisaged for the damage associated with all actions that reduce the quantity or quality of protected areas and species. This paper provides a tool to evaluate the monetary equivalent of this damage. We conduct a contingent valuation exercise to estimate the existence value related to protected areas and species in Aragon. This estimate is then reconsidered including the possibility of zero bids and also the possibility of uncertain preferences for non-familiar goods. Considering these two effects, mean values are reduced significantly giving support to previous recommendations of dividing by two contingent valuation estimates from dichotomous choice question formats.natural heritage, contingent valuation, Spike model, uncertainty, Land Economics/Use, B23, C24, C42, C52, D62, Q26,

La componente ambiental en la PAC

In this chapter is described the evolution of the agri-environmental policy in the European Union. In particular the main measures applied in each member state are presented as well as a reflection of the future of the agri-environmental policy with an special focus on the CAP Post 2013 proposal.JRC.J.4-Agriculture and Life Sciences in the Econom

Docência e ensino profissional no Brasil e em Portugal

Este trabalho apresenta estudo comparado sobre a organização da educação profissional de nível médio no Brasil e em Portugal. O objetivo foi o de compreender como se organizam e se estruturam os cursos profissionais no âmbito da educação formal, bem como descrever os requisitos de acesso à docência, especificamente nas componentes curriculares profissionalizantes. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa, cujo córpus constituiu-se de legislações, bem como de publicações oriundas de pesquisa em bases de dados com o tema formação de professores para educação profissional no Brasil e em Portugal. Como resultados, pode-se afirmar que a formação de professores para a Educação Profissional não está instituída na prática das instituições em nenhum dos dois países, tendo amparo legal em Portugal e um recuo na valorização do pedagógico no Brasil

How to challenge university students to work on integrated reporting and integrated reporting assurance

Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, society has become more sensitive to sustainability and to the consequences of companies’ activities. Furthermore, the demands for change in corporate reporting have led to the emergence of integrated reporting (IR) and an increase in the disclosure of nonfinancial information assurance to ensure the compliance of integrated information. Universities need to embrace this challenge and be part of this change. This research’s goal is to enhance the diffusion of IR and integrated reporting assurance (IRA) in the curricula of universities by presenting a tool for professors and universities to help introduce the subjects in higher education institutions. The methodological approach develops a theoretical analysis of published IR and IRA articles related to education, to create a presentation of the challenge learning method (CLM) for professors and high education institutions to develop the subject of IRA to challenge students. Considering teaching experience as a value-added component to research the proposed method comes from the teaching experience of the authors. The result consists of a method that can increase accounting academics knowledge of IR and IRA and motivate students to study these emerging accounting practices. This study contributes to the extant literature on IR, IRA and Education that is scarce, the use of appropriate teaching methods to IR and IRA, and the dissemination of IR and IRA in education by providing a better connection between the universities and the best practices of corporate reporting and auditing. This study leads to an increase in the connection among higher education institutions, professors, students, practitioners, auditors, regulators, standard setters, and society in general.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Why going to a museum? Motivations and lifestyle of museums visitors and non-visitors

Mestrado em MarketingMuseums face new challenges in XXI century. Their traditional role of guardians of the past is now questioned. Being forced to survive with lack of public funding, their functional role became obsolete. Museums start competing in the leisure arena, facing an aggressive competition. The educative experience is apparently no longer enough to increase audiences and retain old attendees, and museums start to understand the need to gain knowledge about their visitors' motivations, expectations, profiles, and lifestyles. This will allow the conception and implementation of marketing strategies in the difficult journey of creating attractiveness. The present research aims to contribute to knowledge about general motivations of visitors and demotivation of non-visitors, trying to determine lifestyle characteristics of each of these groups. The existent research about non-visitors is very scarce, with many undressed issues. We expect then to contribute to a better understanding of these potential museum's visitors. Moreover, considering that are also many people that tend to use the museums' surroundings (Slater 2007) and to not visit the exhibitions facilities, we also analyze this group characteristics. Findings indicate that those who go to museums search more educative experiences rather than escapism, fun or social interaction. This group of visitors is aesthetic appreciators and dependent from others. Regarding the museums' non-visitors, they were identified as mostly men, being more optimistic, sociable and achievement strivers than the museum's visitors. The "non-visitors" indicate as main reasons to not visit the exhibitions the fact that they don't even think about going there, but also reasons related with price and lack of time. They also indicate lack of interest as the main reason for not going to museums' surroundings. Findings from this study can be helpful for marketers to improve the image of museums while applying strategies in order to create attractiveness for non-visitors.No século XXI os museus enfrentam novos desafios. O tradicional papel de guardiões do passado tem sido questionado, com os museus a ter necessidade de sobreviver com reduzidos financiamentos públicos, enfrentado simultaneamente uma crescente concorrência da oferta de actividades de lazer. O seu papel funcional tornou-se obsoleto, A experiência educativa deixou de ser suficiente para atrair e manter visitantes, sendo necessário que museus comecem a conhecer as motivações, expectativas e perfis dos seus visitantes, não só em termos demográficos, mas também sobre o seu estilo de vida. Só isto permitirá a concepção e implementação de estratégias de marketing críticas para o longo percurso que exige a criação de atractividade. A presente investigação tem como objectivo contribuir para o conhecimento geral sobre as motivações dos visitantes e desmotivação dos não visitantes bem como daqueles que utilizam as imediações, e seus respectivos estilos de vida. Dos resultados obtidos concluímos que os homens são os que menos vão aos museus. Os "visitantes" procuram sobretudo experiências educativas em vez de escape, diversão ou interacção social. Têm sensibilidade estética e revelam dependência dos outros. Os "não visitantes" são mais optimistas, sociáveis e orientados para objectivos. Ficam longe dos museus, porque nem sequer pensam em ir, mas também atribuem essa distância ao preço e a falta de tempo. Aqueles que também não vão às imediações de museus indicam como principal razão a simples falta de interesse. Em conjunto, as conclusões deste estudo podem ser úteis para a aplicação de estratégias de marketing que melhorem a imagem dos museus, de modo a atrair os não visitantes