A cost benefit analysis of public procurement of pork meat

Public procurement stands for a substantial part of the total food consumption in Sweden. The majority of the procured food is today imported and according to market trends it’s intended to stay that way. Imported food is favoured for locally produced due to price pressure. Consequently domestic pork farmers have declined by 25 percent during the last twenty years. This issue has unquestionably stimulated a public opinion of an increase in locally produced food. The main purpose of this paper is to find if there are socioeconomic incentives for public kitchens to purchase only locally produced pork. A cost benefit analysis will be used to monetize relevant costs and benefits. The result shows significant large economic incentives for public procurement to consist of locally produced pork. The results are however sensitive to several assumptions and should therefore be interpret with caution.Offentlig upphandling står för en betydande del av den totala livsmedelskonsumtionen i Sverige. Merparten av den upphandlade maten importeras och enligt marknadstrender är det avsett att förbli så. Den utländska importen av fläskkött föredras över svenskproducerat framförallt på grund av stark prispress. Följaktligen har andelen grisbönder i Sverige minskat med 25 procent under de senaste tjugo åren. Detta har utan tvekan stimulerat en opinion för ökad lokalproducerad mat i de kommunala köken. Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka om det finns ekonomiska incitament för offentliga kök att handla endast lokalproducerat fläskkött. Som analysmetod används en kostnadsnyttoanalys för att värdesätta nyttor i monetära mått och se om dessa överstiger kostnaderna. Resultatet visar ett starkt ekonomiskt incitament för offentlig upphandling att bestå av lokalproducerat fläskkött. Resultaten är dock känsliga för flera antaganden av den reella prissättningen och bör därför tolkas med viss försiktighet

Elasticity of demand for gasoline in Sweden

Policy measures in the transport sector have been widely debated during the recent decades, specifically in terms of increasing carbon emissions from passenger transport. Fuel taxes is receiving most receptive consideration by governments, although households tend to respond little to these measures, especially in rural regions. The aim of this paper, which focuses at the gasoline consumption among households, is to develop a model to estimate price and income elasticities in rural and urban regions in Sweden. While obtaining overall price elasticity to be within the range of previous studies, I find that there is a significant variation in price elasticities across regions. As a consequence, these differences might result in unwanted distributive effects

Perceptions of the role of the man in family planning, during pregnancy and childbirth: A qualitative study with fifteen Nepali men

Introduction: In Nepal, by tradition, family life and marriage are generally controlled by patriarchal norms, sanctions, values and gender differences. Women in Nepal have limited possibilities to make decisions regarding their sexual and reproductive health, as the husbands and other elders in the family make most of the decisions regarding family planning, pregnancy and childbirth. Aim: To describe the perceptions of Nepali men regarding the role of the man with respect to family planning, pregnancy and childbirth. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted with 15 Nepali men in both urban and rural areas. The material was analyzed through inductive content analysis. Findings: One main category and two generic categories were identified. One generic category contained six subcategories and the other five subcategories. The main category was labeled: “He leads – She follows” and the generic categories were labeled: “Supporting women in family planning, during pregnancy and childbirth” and “Withdrawal from supporting women in family planning, during pregnancy and childbirth”. Conclusion: The role of the Nepali men with respect to family planning, pregnancy and childbirth, was identified as a conflicted approach. This study highlights the importance of understanding the influence of culture and tradition when developing strategies for promoting sexual and reproductive health during family planning, pregnancy and childbirth among families in Nepal

COP 28 : uma conferência num tempo de crise global complexa

COP 28: Waiting on the World to Change” é o último número do IDN Brief versando sobre perspetivas no contexto das alterações climáticas à luz da segurança global e centrada na nova temática da conferência dedicada aos temas “Health, Relief, Recovery and Peace”, a “Agenda Financeira” e o “Tempo de Crise Global Complexa”. Este número foi coordenado pelo Coronel Carlos Coutinho Rodrigues, Assessor de Estudos do IDNinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Hrk1 Plays Both Hog1-Dependent and -Independent Roles in Controlling Stress Response and Antifungal Drug Resistance in Cryptococcus neoformans

The HOG (High Osmolarity Glycerol response) pathway plays a central role in controlling stress response, ergosterol biosynthesis, virulence factor production, and differentiation of Cryptococcus neoformans, which causes fatal fungal meningoencephalitis. Recent transcriptome analysis of the HOG pathway discovered a Hog1-regulated gene (CNAG_00130.2), encoding a putative protein kinase orthologous to Rck1/2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Srk1 in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Its function is not known in C. neoformans. The present study functionally characterized the role of Hrk1 in C. neoformans. Northern blot analysis confirmed that HRK1 expression depends on the Hog1 MAPK. Similar to the hog1Δ mutant, the hrk1Δ mutant exhibited almost complete resistance to fludioxonil, which triggers glycerol biosynthesis via the HOG pathway. Supporting this, the hrk1Δ mutant showed reduced intracellular glycerol accumulation and swollen cell morphology in response to fludioxonil, further suggesting that Hrk1 works downstream of the HOG pathway. However, Hrk1 also appeared to have Hog1-independent functions. Mutation of HRK1 not only further increased osmosensitivity of the hog1Δ mutant, but also suppressed increased azole-resistance of the hog1Δ mutant in an Erg11-independent manner. Furthermore, unlike the hog1Δ mutant, Hrk1 was not involved in capsule biosynthesis. Hrk1 was slightly involved in melanin production but dispensable for virulence of C. neoformans. These findings suggest that Hrk1 plays both Hog1-dependent and –independent roles in stress and antifungal drug susceptibility and virulence factor production in C. neoformans. Particularly, the finding that inhibition of Hrk1 substantially increases azole drug susceptibility provides a novel strategy for combination antifungal therapy

The HOG Pathway Dictates the Short-Term Translational Response after Hyperosmotic Shock

In the global osmoshock translational response in yeast, some gene products were translationally mobilized without transcriptional up-regulation. Conversely, other transcriptionally up-regulated mRNAs were translationally inhibited. Analogous changes occurred on the protein level. These translational responses were strongly dependent on Hog1 and Rck2

Introduction: Nietzsche's Life and Works

An introduction to Nietzsche's life and works

Nietzsche's Ethics of Affirmation

This chapter looks at Nietzsche's notion of the affirmation of life. It begins with the origins of the concept in Schopenhauer and in the Schopenhauerian philosophy known to Nietzsche. It then examines affirmation in three phases of Nietzsche's writing: early, middle and late. It relates affirmation to other key Nietzschean concepts like the Apollonian and the Dionysian, eternal recurrence, amor fati and will to power

Islam, ickevåld och fred som politik : Maulana Wahiduddin Khans ideologiska kontext

This is a study of the multifaceted thought of Maulana Wahiduddin Khan (b.1925–), Indian writer, public intellectual, and Muslim religious leader. Khan has been a prolific writer since at least the 1970s and is also an ālim, a Muslim scholar learned in religion. His reputation is based on his public presentation of Islam, non-violence, and peace – a position he has defended in his monthly journal, al-Risāla (Eng. version: Spirit of Islam), a large number of published books and pamphlets, and recently also through use of the internet and social media. Furthermore, as a religious leader and debater Khan has been active as a commentator in Indian national media and through religious dialogue meetings, for which he has received national awards and honours. Khan’s religious thought may be summarised as a thorough attempt at presenting Islam, the Quran, and the example of the Prophet Muhammad as a systematic message of peace. Islam is described as a divine message calling for individual commitment and knowledge. Hence, Islam requires a setting of freedom, peace, and stability so that believers can choose its message without restriction. The Quran is regarded as highlighting non-violent patience as the most significant virtue and peace is both a divine quality as well as a requirement for salvation. The religious ideal of the Prophet Muhammad is not his political achievements. Instead, the Prophet’s message is understood as peaceful negotiation and success through turning conflict into friendship as the ultimate path to end hatred, violence, and persecution. The concept of jihad is seen as essential to this type of peace-building struggle; spreading Islam only through preaching, as well as overcoming the hurdles of the self and ego, for instance anger and violent impulses. By situating Khan’s thought in a context of historical and contemporary debate on the meaning of Islam, this study argues that he continues and develops the nineteenth century Indian Islamic Modernist tradition of presenting Islam, non-violence, and peace in relation to issues of the modern state and the minority situation of Indian Muslims. This type of religious position became nationally prominent from the 1920s during the Indian independence movement. In the contemporary Indian political and social situation however, Hindu nationalist and anti-Muslim rhetoric is being followed by large-scale violence. Khan’s thinking aims to dissociate the rhetorical connection between Islam and violence, while supporting the democratic, pluralist, and secular trappings of the state. The analysis of Khan’s thought considers Islamic Modernism and unmarked reform Sufi Islam, alongside the secularism, democratic liberalism, and reform socialism of the Indian constitution. However, these thematic and discursive structures of thought are formulated by Khan with regard to a certain historical situation, and address particular political and social issues. Studying the various connections between Khan’s thought, the ideological and religious debates, and the historical context of Indian and global society, the final analysis of this study takes on the theoretical issue of whether contemporary and globalised religion can be a force for the development of more democratic and peaceful societies