A Second Look at the 2007-08 Food Price Crisis: Considering the Impact of Endogenous Dynamics on Food Prices

This paper offers an alternative to the conventional explanation of the 2007-08 food price crisis in terms of escalating demand or dwindling supply. Instead, its focus is on the legal-institutional structure of commodity futures markets, which has witnessed a drastic alteration in the role of speculators. These have transformed from “market makers” (that keep commodity futures markets liquid by arbitraging on price fluctuations) to "market breakers". Index speculation, in particular, has had the effect of muddling information about market "fundamentals" because of the need – brought about by commodity index swaps – for swap dealers to hedge the fluctuations of an index of commodity prices by opening and periodically rolling over long-only positions. This periodical rollover to comply with contractual obligations, rather than in response to anticipated fluctuations in the availability of a commodity in the future, can induce a "contango bias" in the commodity futures market that, in turn, might have given the wrong signals to market operators, leading to a condition of induced (rather than pre-existing) scarcity and to an increase in spot prices in the 2007-08 crisis

Substance or Mere Technique? A Precis on Good Faith Performance in England, France and Germany

This paper attempts to offer a concise discussion of good faith performance and other functionally equivalent doctrines in the laws of England, Germany and France. The study’s goal is that of appraising the consistency of existing differences. More specifically, of whether they relate merely to technique - not being paralleled by diverging final outcomes - or whether the rift is deeper and goes to the very substance of the approach to the solution of similar practical problems. For this purpose, the work first shows the close connection between good faith performance (of contractual obligations) and good faith enforcement (of contractual rights), which – it is contended – are simply different perspectives to bear on substantially identical legal questions. The work then proceeds to examine instances in which either of these perspectives is used to solve disputes, and offers an overview of the most frequent approaches, doctrines and provisions used under the three chosen national laws. At the end of the legal analysis, it is concluded that all three systems recognise similar instances as deserving some degree of legal intervention, performed either under the aegis of good faith or through other legal constructs. It is, however, precisely the difference in the nature and breadth of the legal constructs used across jurisdictions that ends up casting uncertainties as to the precise level of agreement of the three systems: differences in technique may indeed translate in divergent substantial outcomes, albeit only in limited cases

A tiny heart beating: Student-edited legal periodicals in good ol' Europe

This paper has a twofold aim: to analyze the possible opportunities disclosed by the observed growth of student- dited law reviews in Europe and to propose an innovative model of student participation to legal publication. The first part explores the phenomenon of student-edited law reviews in the U.S., focusing on its recognized educational benefits. Among others, it is observed that participation in student-edited law reviews might promote greater scholarly maturity among J.D. students, who might in turn be better equipped for a career in the academia after finishing law school, in comparison to their same-age European peers. Hence, there follows an examination of the possible beneficial repercussions that the establishment of student-edited law reviews may yield on the process of faculty education in (continental) Europe, in light of the general practice therein endorsed of academic “apprenticeship” under a mentor. Such benefits may consist, among others, in the enticement of larger numbers of potential academicians and in their possible greater intellectual maturity, providing new meaning to the aforementioned time-honored European practice. The second part of the paper focuses, instead, on the drawbacks brought about by excessive proliferation of student-edited law reviews in the U.S., such as alleged decrease in the quality of published scholarship as a consequence of the superficial quality control that student editors sometimes perform. In view of the foregoing, an innovative model of student publication is proposed, in order to prevent the onset of such drawbacks in Europe, while retaining the above-outlined benefits of early student involvement in academic discourse. It is suggested to complement few, authoritative sources of published scholarship in the form of peer-reviewed journals with student-edited working paper series which, if based on the guideline to provide substantial constructive feedback to authors, could ultimately help foster a quality improvement of published scholarship

Toda joia, toda beleza! Finding what is left in the margins or regime collisions: A pluralist take on managerialism

This paper has two authors, two titles and is written in the form of a dialogue,rather than conveying a unitary voice, as one would instead expect of a coauthored paper. The reason for this is that the articulation of the authors' disagreement, despite the identification of each of them with “the left”, is precisely the object of inquiry. After briefly introducing the problem on which the authors’ discussion takes place, namely regime collisions, and the clash of approaches that are available to (decide whether to) deal with them, a dialogue follows, in which the authors’ voices are clearly separated as they discuss the specific issue of the measurement of quality as a (managerialist) proposal to “solve” regime collisions, and contrast that to more openly politicised views of approaching regime collisions. In the end, the main features of such discussion are examined in such a way as to bring forth the peculiar self-consciousness that pluralist spaces give rise to, weakening and downsizing every point of view that appoints itself as the “higher” vantage point from which to describe the world and enumerate problems, and stimulating a constant oscillation between perspectives. This commitment to a pluralistic confrontation and the ensuing hybridization of perspectives is, we argue, at the heart of the idea of “the left” which we both identify with

Plan de negocios para la creación de un café bar en la Ciudad de Pereira

En este estudio de viabilidad vamos a conocer a fondo el estudio de mercado para la realización de un café – bar en la ciudad de Pereira. A pesar de la gran expansión en esta ciudad de bares, sentimos la necesidad de enfocarnos en un proyecto que cubra las necesidades de toda persona que busca un doble ambiente. Todos hemos sentido la necesidad de buscar un lugar para poder pasar un rato con nuestros amigos y poder conversar cómodamente en un ambiente agradable, cómodo y que es diferente a todos los demás establecimientos de la ciudad donde el buen servicio y el mejor café serán la mejor carta de recomendación. Así que por medio, de este estudio podremos saber si nuestra idea es rentable o no y como cumplir con todas las exigencias que involucran la iniciación de un proyecto.In this feasibility study we will learn in-depth market research for the realization of a cafe - bar in the city of Pereira. Despite the great expansion in this city of bars, we feel the need to focus on a project that meets the needs of anyone looking for a double room. We have all felt the need to find a place to hang out with our friends and able to converse comfortably in a pleasant, comfortable and that is different from all other establishments in the city where good service and the best coffee will be the best letter of recommendation. So that means, in this study we know if our idea is profitable or not and how to comply with all requirements that involve the initiation of a project

Dubrovin Type Equations for Completely Integrable Systems Associated with a Polynomial Pencil

Dubrovin type equations for the N -gap solution of a completely integrable system associated with a polynomial pencil is constructed and then integrated to a system of functional equations. The approach used to derive those results is a generalization of the familiar process of finding the 1-soliton (1-gap) solution by integrating the ODE obtained from the soliton equation via the substitution u = u(x + λt)

Biocarburants, una estratègia poc aconsellable

Daniela Russi, doctoranda del Departament d'Economia i Història Econòmica de la UAB, ha realitzat una tesi per estudiar les conseqüències mediambientals de la producció i de l'ús de biocombustibles derivats de cultius "energètics". El treball, "Social Multi-Criteria Evaluation and Renewable Energy Policies", conclou que destinar diner públic per incentivar una producció a gran escala dels biocarburants no és una bona estratègia, i alerta del perill que suposa presentar-los com la vareta màgica per resoldre problemes com el preu del petroli, el canvi climàtic, la seguretat energètica o la contaminació urbana.Daniela Russi, doctoranda del Departament d'Economia i Història Econòmica de la UAB, ha realitzat una tesi per estudiar les conseqüències mediambientals de la producció i de l'ús de biocombustibles derivats de cultius "energètics". El treball, "Social Multi- Criteria Evaluation and Renewable Energy Policies", conclou que destinar diner públic per incentivar una producció a gran escala dels biocarburants no és una bona estratègia, i alerta del perill que suposa presentar-los com la vareta màgica per resoldre problemes com el preu del petroli, el canvi climàtic, la seguretat energètica o la contaminació urbana.Daniela Russi, Ph.D. Candidate of the UAB's Department of Economics and Economic History, has made a thesis to study the environmental consequences of the production and use of biofuels. She concludes that using public funding to support a large scale biofuel production is not an advisable strategy

Miomatosis uterina, sintomatología urinaria y alteraciones sexuales en mujeres con indicación de tratamiento quirúrgico

Introducción Las pacientes con miomas uterinos pueden llegar a sufrir de síntomas urinarios y de disfunción sexual. Es para nosotros importante conocer la frecuencia de estas patologías en pacientes con miomas con indicación de cirugía atendidos en el Hospital Universitario Mayor Méderi y la relación entre estas tres entidades. Metodología Estudio cuasi experimental de antes-después. El estudio se encuentra dividido en dos fases, en esta primera fase a las pacientes se les aplicó los cuestionarios FSFI, IIQ-7 y UDI-6 antes de realizar el procedimiento quirúrgico. En una segunda fase se realizará un nuevo abordaje a los 6 y 12 meses donde se aplicarán los mismos instrumentos. Se utilizó coeficiente de Spearman y Kruskall-Wallis para evaluar la relación. Resultados En esta primera fase se incluyeron 81 participantes, con una mediana de años de 46 (RIQ=42-49) mínimo 33 y máximo 71 años. La mediana de miomas fue de 1 (RIQ1-2) máximo 5 miomas. El resultado total de la FSFI fue de 21(RIQ=18,5-25,5). La mediana de la escala UDI -6 fue de 50,4 (RIQ=0-31,2) y la mediana de IIQ-7 fue de 4,75 (RIQ=0-23,7). Se presentó una correlación negativa débil entre los puntajes de FSFI y los cuestionarios UDI-6 (-0.3604) e IIQ 7 (-0.3530), con una prevalencia de riesgo de disfunción sexual de 61%. Conclusiones En esta primera fase de la investigación se pudo observar una existencia de correlación entre la función sexual y la sintomatología urinaria. La prevalencia de disfunción sexual es mayor que en población de mujeres sin patología de miomas uterino.Introduction Patients with uterine fibroids may suffer from urinary symptoms and sexual dysfunction. It is important for us to know the frequency of these diseases in patients with myomas indicating surgery treated at the University Hospital Mayor mederi and the relationship between these three entities. Methodology quasi-experimental study of before and after. The study is divided into two phases, the first phase the patients were given the FSFI, IIQ-7 and UDI-6 questionnaires before performing the surgical procedure. In a second phase, a new approach will take place at 6 and 12 months when the same instruments shall apply. Spearman and Kruskal-Wallis test to assess the relationship was used. results In this first phase they included 81 participants, with a minimum 33 and maximum 71 years median age of 46 (IQR = 42-49). The median was 1 myomas (RIQ1-2) max 5 myomas. The overall result of the FSFI was 21 (IQR = 18.5 to 25.5). The median UDI -6 scale was 50.4 (IQR = 0 to 31.2) and median IIQ-7 was 4.75 (IQR = 0 to 23.7). a weak negative correlation between FSFI scores and UDI-6 (-0.3604) and IIQ 7 questionnaires (-0.3530), with a prevalence of risk of sexual dysfunction of 61% occurred. conclusions In this first phase of the research we observed a correlation between the existence of sexual function and urinary symptoms. The prevalence of sexual dysfunction is higher than in women population uterine fibroids without pathology

Social multi-criteria evaluation and renewable energy policies : two case-studies /

Consultable des del TDXA portada: PhD Programme in Environmental Sciences (Ecological Economics and Environmental Management), Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA))Títol obtingut de la portada digitalitzadaSocial Multi-Criteria Evaluation is a kind of multi-criteria analysis that combines the technical evaluation of different options according to various assessment criteria with the analysis of the social actors' conflicting values and interests. Two main ideas are at the basis of SMCE: technical incommensurability (i.e. in a complex environment one cannot express all impacts of a policy using one only unit of measurement, or, in other words, an inter/multidisciplinary analysis is needed) and social incommensurability (i.e. the social actors have different and legitimately conflicting values and interests, which must be taken into account when evaluating a policy or a project). SMCE was applied to two case-studies. In the first one, the problem at hand was how to provide some isolated rural households in a natural park near Barcelona with electricity, whether by extending the grid or installing stand-alone photovoltaic systems. The issue caused a conflict between 1995 and 2000 among the Park administration (in favour of solar energy) and the household inhabitants and owners, plus the Mayor (in favour of traditional electricity). A retrospective SMCE was performed in order to explain the positions of the involved stakeholders and the factors that help the diffusion of off-grid photovoltaic systems in rural areas. The second part of the thesis deals with the opportunity for the Italian government of supporting a large-scale biofuels production. The pros and cons of satisfying part of the energy need of the transport sector with biodiesel were analyzed through a variety of assessment criteria and taking into account different scales and dimensions