305 research outputs found
How to Treat Farmers Fairly? Results of a Farmer Survey
No full textWith growing price volatilities on agricultural markets, the question of fair prices for agricultural products is becoming increasingly important. One major aspect of this is fair treatment of farmers by supply chain partners. Fairness has been discussed in studies in the literature for some time now, but there is little evidence concerning farmers' perceptions of fairness. This paper addresses this gap, using empirical data from a farm survey and regression analysis of farmer attitudes. The results clearly reveal that besides the overall price satisfaction, the reliability of the supply chain partners and solidarity between farmers influence perceived fairness
How to Treat Farmers Fairly? Results of a Farmer Survey
No full textWith growing price volatilities on agricultural markets, the question of fair prices for agricultural products is becoming increasingly important. One major aspect of this is fair treatment of farmers by supply chain partners. Fairness has been discussed in studies in the literature for some time now, but there is little evidence concerning farmers' perceptions of fairness. This paper addresses this gap, using empirical data from a farm survey and regression analysis of farmer attitudes. The results clearly reveal that besides the overall price satisfaction, the reliability of the supply chain partners and solidarity between farmers influence perceived fairness
Flexible and cost effective reconfigurable UHF RFID antenna system
No full textIn this paper a reconfigurable matching network for achieving frequency agility of an electrically small UHF RFID patch antenna is proposed. In order to allow switching under high power transmission a state-of-the-art SP3T CMOS switch is employed for selecting specific components and thus achieving a proper matching in the EU and US frequency bands. Moreover, in the proposed design, only one switch is used instead of four needed in standard aperture tuning approaches. An optimized design of a RFID microstrip antenna has been simulated, showing good performance and high degree of flexibility of this technique, which for its low cost and high integration rate, can become an alternative to aperture tuning for frequency agility purposes
Polarization reconfigurable patch antenna for compact and low cost UHF RFID reader
No full textThis paper presents a patch antenna designed for Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) reader including a reconfigurable feeding for achieving polarization agility. The switchable polarization improves the polarization efficiency in comparison with standard circular polarized antenna solutions. CMOS switches are used in the reconfigurable feeding network for enabling higher power transmission and uncomplicated control with respect to solutions involving varactors and PIN diodes. Moreover, the designed patch antenna and ground planes have reduced size, for best integration of the reader in the required application. The combination of antenna and reconfigurable feeding network has been tested through simulations, showing good performance over the EU RFID frequency band (865-868 MHz). Due to its flexible and inexpensive structure, the proposed reconfigurable feeding system is a promising alternative to standard circular polarized reader antenna approaches
A Pricing along a value chain fraught with risks: Innovative approach to fair pricing in the organic milk sector
No full textDerzeitige Milchpreisentwicklungen zeigen, dass die Diskussion um Preisgestaltungsmöglichkeiten in der Bio-Milchwirtschaft aktuell ist. Von Erzeugerseite wird dabei der Begriff fairer Preise diskutiert, da niedrige bzw. volatile Marktpreise zu der Wahrnehmung einer unfairen Behandlung führten. Strategien zur Steigerung der Wertschöpfung sind bisher in der Bio-Milchwirtschaft kaum betrachtet worden. Es war daher Ziel des Projektes, innovative Ansätze für eine faire Preisfindung in der ökologischen Milchwirtschaft zu erarbeiten und neue Preisstrategien zu erschließen, da Erzeuger und Molkereien besonders von Preisvolatilitäten betroffen sind. Anhand einer Scannerdatenanalyse wird gezeigt, dass Biokäufer im Naturkosthandel (NKH) vergleichsweise preisunsensibel sind. Folglich existieren Spielräume, die auch für Fairnesskonzepte in der Wertschöpfungskette (WSK) genutzt werden können. Ergänzend zeigt die Preisanalyse auf, dass die Akteure im NKH eine eher zurückhaltende Preispolitik mit wenigen Preisänderungen betreiben, die nahezu branchenweit gleichzeitig durchgeführt werden und eine verzögerte Weitergabe von sinkenden Erzeugerpreisen an den Verbraucher vollziehen. Dies spricht für eine Premium-Preis-Strategie des Handels mit Margenausweitung, was Potentiale für ein Fair-Preis-System bietet, allerdings mit kartellrechtlichen Grenzen. Wie eine Landwirtebefragung aufzeigt, besteht seitens der Biolandwirte Einigkeit, dass die Diskussion um faire Preise wichtig ist. Zusätzlich sind genaue Vorstellungen von fairen Preisen vorhanden. Biolandwirte haben eine wesentlich höhere Wertorientierung, die ein Fair-Preis-Konzept erfüllen sollte. Das Verhalten und der Umgang in der WSK werden als bedeutender für ein faires Konzept erachtet im Vergleich zu den konventionellen Berufskollegen. Es wird ein anbieterorientiertes Fair-Preis-System vorgeschlagen, das die Fairnesskommunikation (gerechte Margenverteilung) und gleichzeitige Ausweitung der Margen zum Ziel hat. Durch den innovativen Charakter der Studie kann eine stufenübergreifende Betrachtung von Preisbildungsmechanismen im NKH in die bestehende Fairnessforschung eingeordnet werden. Die Untersuchung liefert damit wichtige erste Erkenntnisse zum Wechselspiel von Effizienz und Gerechtigkeit in WSK.In recent years, growing price volatilities in the milk market have triggered a discussion about fair prices in agricultural supply chains. Given the increasing complaints by German farmers, agricultural organizations and politicians reached the conclusion that farmers felt unfairly treated due to their dissatisfaction with the current prices for agricultural products. In the context of this discussion the question arose of what fair and innovative pricing systems in the German organic milk supply chain might be. Keeping this in mind we used a scanner data analysis in order to get insights into the consumer behavior and the pricing policies of specialized organic food shops in Germany. A survey among 531 German farmers provided further indications of what farmers perceived as fair. The results of our research show that patrons of specialized organic food shops are less price-sensitive, although traditional price thresholds should be kept in mind. Moreover, premium pricing strategies have successfully been implemented by the partners in the organic milk supply chain due to high and rigid prices, high synchronization and asymmetrical price transmission. These results reveal opportunities for the design of fair pricing concepts in compliance with the boundaries of antitrust law. The need for fair prices in the organic milk chain has become apparent by the results of the farmer survey. Organic farmers have clear visions about fair prices, can define them and focus more on values in supply chains than on the distribution of margins. Fair treatment and fair behaviour are important for them. The results lead us to recommend a supplier oriented fair pricing system including fairness communication to consumers (fair distribution of margins) with an expansion of margins at the same time. The analysis of pricing systems in this supply chain combined with actual fairness research approaches clearly demonstrates the innovative approach of the study and gives insights into the interaction between efficiency and justice in agricultural supply chains
A Pricing along a value chain fraught with risks: Innovative approach to fair pricing in the organic milk sector
No full textDerzeitige Milchpreisentwicklungen zeigen, dass die Diskussion um Preisgestaltungsmöglichkeiten in der Bio-Milchwirtschaft aktuell ist. Von Erzeugerseite wird dabei der Begriff fairer Preise diskutiert, da niedrige bzw. volatile Marktpreise zu der Wahrnehmung einer unfairen Behandlung führten. Strategien zur Steigerung der Wertschöpfung sind bisher in der Bio-Milchwirtschaft kaum betrachtet worden. Es war daher Ziel des Projektes, innovative Ansätze für eine faire Preisfindung in der ökologischen Milchwirtschaft zu erarbeiten und neue Preisstrategien zu erschließen, da Erzeuger und Molkereien besonders von Preisvolatilitäten betroffen sind. Anhand einer Scannerdatenanalyse wird gezeigt, dass Biokäufer im Naturkosthandel (NKH) vergleichsweise preisunsensibel sind. Folglich existieren Spielräume, die auch für Fairnesskonzepte in der Wertschöpfungskette (WSK) genutzt werden können. Ergänzend zeigt die Preisanalyse auf, dass die Akteure im NKH eine eher zurückhaltende Preispolitik mit wenigen Preisänderungen betreiben, die nahezu branchenweit gleichzeitig durchgeführt werden und eine verzögerte Weitergabe von sinkenden Erzeugerpreisen an den Verbraucher vollziehen. Dies spricht für eine Premium-Preis-Strategie des Handels mit Margenausweitung, was Potentiale für ein Fair-Preis-System bietet, allerdings mit kartellrechtlichen Grenzen. Wie eine Landwirtebefragung aufzeigt, besteht seitens der Biolandwirte Einigkeit, dass die Diskussion um faire Preise wichtig ist. Zusätzlich sind genaue Vorstellungen von fairen Preisen vorhanden. Biolandwirte haben eine wesentlich höhere Wertorientierung, die ein Fair-Preis-Konzept erfüllen sollte. Das Verhalten und der Umgang in der WSK werden als bedeutender für ein faires Konzept erachtet im Vergleich zu den konventionellen Berufskollegen. Es wird ein anbieterorientiertes Fair-Preis-System vorgeschlagen, das die Fairnesskommunikation (gerechte Margenverteilung) und gleichzeitige Ausweitung der Margen zum Ziel hat. Durch den innovativen Charakter der Studie kann eine stufenübergreifende Betrachtung von Preisbildungsmechanismen im NKH in die bestehende Fairnessforschung eingeordnet werden. Die Untersuchung liefert damit wichtige erste Erkenntnisse zum Wechselspiel von Effizienz und Gerechtigkeit in WSK.In recent years, growing price volatilities in the milk market have triggered a discussion about fair prices in agricultural supply chains. Given the increasing complaints by German farmers, agricultural organizations and politicians reached the conclusion that farmers felt unfairly treated due to their dissatisfaction with the current prices for agricultural products. In the context of this discussion the question arose of what fair and innovative pricing systems in the German organic milk supply chain might be. Keeping this in mind we used a scanner data analysis in order to get insights into the consumer behavior and the pricing policies of specialized organic food shops in Germany. A survey among 531 German farmers provided further indications of what farmers perceived as fair. The results of our research show that patrons of specialized organic food shops are less price-sensitive, although traditional price thresholds should be kept in mind. Moreover, premium pricing strategies have successfully been implemented by the partners in the organic milk supply chain due to high and rigid prices, high synchronization and asymmetrical price transmission. These results reveal opportunities for the design of fair pricing concepts in compliance with the boundaries of antitrust law. The need for fair prices in the organic milk chain has become apparent by the results of the farmer survey. Organic farmers have clear visions about fair prices, can define them and focus more on values in supply chains than on the distribution of margins. Fair treatment and fair behaviour are important for them. The results lead us to recommend a supplier oriented fair pricing system including fairness communication to consumers (fair distribution of margins) with an expansion of margins at the same time. The analysis of pricing systems in this supply chain combined with actual fairness research approaches clearly demonstrates the innovative approach of the study and gives insights into the interaction between efficiency and justice in agricultural supply chains
Frequency and Polarization Agile RFID Patch Antenna with Reduced Dimensions
No full textThis paper presents a frequency and polarization reconfigurable UHF RFID patch antenna based on a switchable feeding network. For best integration of the antenna, its size and ground plane are much smaller with respect to the canonical patch antenna design, however the proposed design is able to cover the EU and US frequency bands of the RFID standard. State-of-the-art CMOS switches are employed as key element for selecting the desired polarization and proper matching network. The switches provide also a simple solution for high power applications in contrast to concepts based on PIN diodes or varactors. Simulated results have shown good performance. Considering its flexible and inexpensive structure, the proposed system is a promising alternative to aperture tuning and circular polarized antenna approaches
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