A Duality Procedure to Elicit Nonlinear Multiattribute Utility Functions.

The practical implementation of the Multiattribute Utility Theory is limited, partly for the lack of operative methods to elicit the parameters of the Multiattribute Utility Function, particularly when this function is not linear. As a consequence, most studies are restricted to linear specifications, which are easier to estimate and to interpret. We propose an indirect method to elicit the parameters of a nonlinear utility function to be compatible with the actual behaviour of decision makers, rather than with their answers to direct surveys. The idea rests on approaching the parameter estimation problem as a dual of the decision problem and making the observed decisions to be compatible with a rational decision making process.Multiple-Criteria Analysis, Multi-Attribute Utility Function, Simulation, Agriculture.

ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES ON CONSTRUCTING A COMPOSITE INDICATOR TO MEASURE AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY

The aim of this paper is to carry out a comparative analysis of alternative methods on constructing composite indicators to measure global sustainability of the agricultural sector. This comparison is implemented empirically on the irrigated agriculture of the Duero basin (Spain) as a case study. For this purpose, this research uses a dataset of indicators previously calculated for different farm-types and policy scenarios. The results allow to establish a hierarchy of the policy scenarios on the basis of the level of sustainability achieved. Furthermore, analyzing the heterogeneity of different farms-types in each scenario, is also possible to determine the main features of the most sustainable farms in each case. All this information is useful in order to support agricultural policy design and its implementation, trying to increase the sustainability of this sector.Sustainability, Composite Indicators, Irrigated agriculture, Scenarios, Agricultural policy, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Using DEA to estimate the importance of objectives for decision makers

In this paper we establish further connections between DEA and Multi-criteria Decision Analysis by suggesting a particular way to estimate preference weights for different objectives using DEA. We claim that the virtual multipliers obtained from a standard DEA model are not suitable to measure the preferences of a decision maker. Our suggestion takes advantage of the parallelism between DEA and the methodology proposed by Sumpsi et al. (1997) by projecting each unit on a linear combination of the elements of the pay-off matrix. Finally, we make an application of the proposed methodology to agricultural economics in a case study with Spanish data.Data Envelopment Analysis, Multicriteria Decision Analysis, preferences, weights, virtual multipliers.

Using a modified DEA model to estimate the importance of objectives. An application to agricultural economics.

This paper shows a connection between Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and the methodology proposed by Sumpsi et al. (1997) to estimate the weights of objectives for decision makers in a multiple attribute approach. This connection gives rise to a modified DEA model that allows to estimate not only efficiency measures but also preference weights by radially projecting each unit onto a linear combination of the elements of the payoff matrix (which is obtained by standard multicriteria methods). For users of Multiple Attribute Decision Analysis the basic contribution of this paper is a new interpretation of the methodology by Sumpsi et al. (1997) in terms of efficiency. We also propose a modified procedure to calculate an efficient payoff matrix and a procedure to estimate weights through a radial projection rather than a distance minimization. For DEA users, we provide a modified DEA procedure to calculate preference weights and efficiency measures which does not depend on any observations in the dataset. This methodology has been applied to an agricultural case study in Spain.Multicriteria Decision Making, Goal Programming, Weights, Preferences, Data Envelopment Analysis.

Multi-Criteria Analysis of Factors Use Level: The Case of Water for Irrigation

In this paper we present a methodology to analyse input use in the agricultural sector. The novelty of the theoretical model explained is that it has been developed considering a multi-criteria environment. Thus, the optimal input use condition is determined by the assessment of “multi-attribute utility” and “multiattribute marginal utility”. We show how the approach adopted in this paper is a generalization of the single-attribute expected utility theory. The theoretical model developed is further implemented in an empirical application that studies water for irrigation use as a particular case. Results show how multi-attribute utility functions elicited for a sample of 52 irrigators explain differences on irrigation water use in relative homogenous agricultural systems, albeit exhibiting similar water partial utility functions. We conclude that these differences come from the dissimilar weights that farmers attached to each attribute in the aggregate utility function. The irrigated area considered as case study is located in North-western Spain.Production Theory, Input Use, MAUT, Water for Irrigation, Spain

MULTI-CRITERIA ANALYSIS OF FACTORS USE LEVEL: THE CASE OF WATER FOR IRRIGATION

In this paper we present a methodology to analyse input use in the agricultural sector. The novelty of the theoretical model explained is that it has been developed considering a multi-criteria environment. Thus, the optimal input use condition is determined by the assessment of "multi-attribute utility" and "multi-attribute marginal utility". We show how the approach adopted in this paper is a generalization of the single-attribute expected utility theory. The theoretical model developed is further implemented in an empirical application that studies water for irrigation use as a particular case. Results show how multi-attribute utility functions elicited for a sample of 52 irrigators explain differences on irrigation water use in relative homogenous agricultural systems, albeit exhibiting similar water partial utility functions. We conclude that these differences come from the dissimilar weights that farmers attached to each attribute in the aggregate utility function. The irrigated area considered as case study is located in North-western Spain.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Agricultural Risk Aversion Revisited: A Multicriteria Decision-Making Approach

In modelling farm systems it is widely accepted that risk plays a central role. Furthermore, farmers' risk aversion determines their decisions in both the short and the long run. This paper presents a methodology based on multiple criteria mathematical programming to obtain relative and absolute risk aversion coefficients. We rely on multiattribute utility theory (MAUT) to elicit a separable additive multiattribute utility function and then estimate the risk aversion coefficients and apply this methodology to an irrigated area of Northern Spain. The results show a wide variety of attitudes to risk among farmers, who mainly exhibit decreasing absolute risk aversion (DARA) and constant relative risk aversion (CRRA).Risk analysis, Agriculture, Utility theory, Multiple criteria analysis, Risk and Uncertainty,

Los discursos del blues en Crossroads, de Walter Hill

De todo lo que se ha dicho o escrito acerca del virtuoso del blues Robert Johnson (1911-1938), muy poco es demostrablemente cierto. Walter Hill eligió comenzar Crossroads (Cruce de caminos, 1986) con un hecho improbable y otro indiscutiblemente real: el joven Robert esperando al diablo en un cruce de caminos del Sur, y el mismo Robert un tiempo después, grabando el célebre Cross Road’s Blues y plantando así los esquejes de un mito que tenía medio siglo por delante para florecer. Johnson es ahora la figura más conocida del llamado blues “rural” o “del Delta”, la forma de blues comúnmente considerada más primitiva o “pura”. En la red de misterios, leyendas y anécdotas que lo envuelve toma forma acabada el arquetipo del bluesman: vagabundo, bebedor, mujeriego, nostálgico, sufrido, y oscuramente relacionado con el Diablo y los cultos vudú; la leyenda más célebre es que su pericia musical la había cambiado por su alma en un cruce de caminos, en un pacto con el diablo. Este es el hilo conductor soterrado de todo el film, y el leitmotiv del personaje de Willie Brown (Joe Seneca), compañero ocasional de Johnson en los primeros años treinta, que vive siempre torturado por el recuerdo y acicateado por el miedo. Era el punto de partida ideal para la película de Hill

Reformismo, difusión y legado musical de Francisco Giner de los Ríos

Francisco Giner de los Ríos creció y se formó en una España en que la música culta, ya perdida la ilusión de consolidar una ópera nacional propia, braceaba desordenadamente para no hundirse del todo, y la enseñanza musical reglada daba sus primeros y torpes pasos. En esta coyuntura, entre finales del siglo XIX y principios del XX, Giner comenzó a trabajar en varios frentes para cambiar las formas de enseñar música, siempre apoyándose en el ideario krausista. Este artículo propone un panorama de la tarea gineriana e institucionista en este campo, dividida en tres grandes cursos de acción: el impulso reformista en las enseñanzas profesionales de música, la importancia concedida a lo musical en la ILE, y la labor que la Residencia de Estudiantes o las Misiones Pedagógicas continuaron desempeñando tras la muerte del maestro.In the Spain where Francisco Giner de los Ríos was born and educated, classical music was desperately struggling not to sink completely. The hope for a consolidated national opera was definitely lost, and formal musical education was timidly starting to develop. Thus, in the late 19th century, Giner, always loyal to Krause’s aesthetics and social beliefs, started to work in order to change the way music was being taught. This article offers an outlook on the Institución Libre de Enseñanza and Giner´s efforts on this field, divided in three main courses of action: the reform on professional music education, the importance of music within the ILE, and the way institutions like the «Misiones Pedagógicas» or the «Residencia de Estudiantes» continued Giner’s work after his death