218 research outputs found
Are EU spatial ex ante coexistence regulations proportional?
Full text linkThe EU is currently struggling to implement coherent coexistence regulations on genetically modified (GM) and non-GM crops in all member states. While it stresses that any approach needs to be “proportionate to the aim of achieving coexistence”, very few studies have actually attempted to assess whether the proposed spatial ex ante coexistence regulations (SEACERs) satisfy this proportionality condition. In this article, we define proportionality as a functional relationship which is weakly increasing in the incentives for coexistence. We propose a spatial framework based on an existing landscape and introduce the new concept of shadow factor as a measure for the opportunity costs induced by SEACERs. This enables comparing the proportionality of (i) rigid SEACERs which are based on large isolation distances imposed on GM farmers versus (ii) flexible SEACERs based on pollen barrier agreements between neighboring farmers. Our theoretical and empirical findings argue for flexibility as rigid SEACERs violate the proportionality condition and, hence, are not consistent with the objectives of the EU.policy analysis, GIS, shadow factor, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries,
Risk and De-Collectivisation: Evidence from the Czech Republic
Full text linkThe replacement of wage-labour farms by family farms in Central and Eastern Europe during the transformation has been more limited than was initially expected. In this paper a formal framework is developed in order to analyse the behaviour of family farms and socialist-style farms in the presence of risk, given the typical post-socialist environment. Management incentives, ownership structure, lump-sum transfers and consumption choices are shown to have the potential to limit the size of family farms relative to socialist-style farms. The hypotheses are tested with survey data collected by the author in the Czech Republic.transition, agriculture, structural change, risk, survey data, Risk and Uncertainty, D21, D81, O18, Q12,
To be awarded, or Not to Be Awarded. Is that the Question?:Theoretical and Methodological Aspects of the Study of Literary and Translation Prizes in the Context of Cultural Transfer
Full text linkTo be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature or not to be awarded. Is that the question? Is not every author overwhelmed by the mere thought of being awarded the Noble Prize in Literature? After all, it means more translations, a broader audience, honour, money and fame. One good example of a writer who benefitted from the prize is the Icelandic author Halldór Laxness (1902-1998). A hitherto unknown poet and novelist, he became world famous after receiving the award in 1955, after which his works were translated into more than 25 languages.1 There have also been authors, however, who were anything but honoured to be nominated. Undoubtedly, the most famous example is Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980), who refused the Nobel Prize in 1964 to maintain his intellectual credibility as an anti-bourgeois philosopher and activist
Economics of spatial coexistence of genetically modified and conventional crops: Oilseed rape in Central France
Full text linkEurope is currently struggling to implement coherent coexistence regulations on genetically modified (GM) and non-GM crops in all EU Member States. We conduct simulations with the software ArcView® on a GIS dataset of a hypothetical case of GM herbicide tolerant oilseed rape cultivation in Central France. Our findings show that rigid coexistence rules, such as large distance requirements, may impose a severe burden on GM crop production in Europe. These rules are not proportional to the farmers’ basic incentives for coexistence and hence not consistent with the objectives of the European Commission. More alarming, we show that in densely planted areas a domino-effect may occur. This effect raises coexistence costs and even adds to the non-proportionality of rigid coexistence regulations. Instead, we show that flexible measures would be preferable since they are proportional to the incentives for coexistence and, hence, less counterproductive for European agriculture.regulation, GIS modelling, domino-effect, Crop Production/Industries,
Intention-Aware Routing to Minimise Delays at Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
No full textEn-route charging stations allow electric vehicles to greatly extend their range. However, as a full charge takes a considerable amount of time, there may be significant waiting times at peak hours. To address this problem, we propose a novel navigation system, which communicates its intentions (i.e., routing policies) to other drivers. Using these intentions, our system accurately predicts congestion at charging stations and suggests the most efficient route to its user. We achieve this by extending existing time-dependent stochastic routing algorithms to include the battery's state of charge and charging stations. Furthermore, we describe a novel technique for combining historical information with agent intentions to predict the queues at charging stations. Through simulations we show that our system leads to a significant increase in utility compared to existing approaches that do not explicitly model waiting times or use intentions, in some cases reducing waiting times by over 80% and achieving near-optimal overall journey times.Software and Computer TechnologyElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc
Wat moet eruit komen? Reactie op de kritische bijdrage van Kalmijn en De Graaf
No full textThe article focuses on the views of the author regarding the evaluation of his test book by Mathijs Kalmijn and Paul M. De Graaf meant for measuring professional status. Both Kalmijn and Graff have compared the scales proposed by the author and other scales for measuring professional status. They have claimed that GK-schaal is more effective than that of the author. According to the author, they have based their theoretical foundation of objective scales on training and profession
Route Planning with Breaks and Truck Driving Bans Using Time-Dependent Contraction Hierarchies
No full textMandatory breaks for truck drivers are nowadays scheduled after the route has been decided. However, in some cases it is beneficial to plan these breaks during waiting time caused by truck driving bans. Optimally planning a single break considering driving bans can be done using Dijkstra’s algorithm with multiple labels. This has large effects on predicted travel times: 17% of the analysed routes having a night rest obtain an earlier arrival time by 5 hours on average. However, the computation times of this algorithm are long. A novel heuristic version of time-dependent contraction hierarchies leads to significant reductions in computation times from several seconds to several milliseconds per route. Experiments show that the solutions are still optimal for a representative test set consisting of 10,000 route queries.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.AlgorithmicsTransport and Plannin
Investigation of vertical cutter mining for increased primary resource recovery and decreased environmental impact
No full textThe purpose of this thesis is to aid in the development of vertical cutting mining as a mining method. In order to do so, the technical feasibility and viability, and environmental benefit of vertical cutting as a complementary mining method were investigated. The investigation was performed for the case of the Victor Diamond mine in northern Ontario, Canada, where open pit mining ends by the end of 2018 or beginning of 2019.Vertical cutting has been used for several decades for the construction of water retention walls in the civil engineering industry. By placing the vertical cutter system directly on top of an ore target and cutting straight, vertical trenches up to a maximum depth of 150 m, it is intended to cross over to the mining industry. Extraction with vertical cutting can occur according four extraction scenarios. Three of the scenarios are land-based, the fourth assumes flooding of the mine, and has not been considered for the Victor project. Checkerboard mining is the base case extraction scenario with an extraction rate of approximately 30%. The long trenching scenario would increase the recovery with an additional 15% but induces a high risk of instability in the existing pit walls and the kimberlite in between the trenches. Application of backfill is the third scenario and achieves a recovery of 98%. Backfilling of the trenches requires the movement of significant volumes of additional rock as well as induces time delays due to the curing time of the backfill. Financial evaluation of the vertical cutting scenarios shows a high dependency of the project value on a decreasing cutting performance. Cumulative cash flow analysis and NPV suggest that extending the mine life at the Victor Diamond mine with vertical cutting is favourable. Even in the case of increased rock strengths, as expected in the deeper parts of the Victor pipes, vertical cutting has a positive net present project value. Long trenching, which is considered to be of high risk for pit stability has only marginally greater project value than the base case. The development of alternative mining solutions also aims to reduce the impact of the mining operations on the surrounding environment. Vertical cutting combines multiple mining processes into one operating piece of equipment. It reduces the GHG emissions, improves the safety of extraction process and is expected to increase the support from stakeholders. Extending operational life using conventional methods would require large expansion of the mine involving the increase of the operational fleet, pumping capacity and land usage. The application of vertical cutting has the ability to prevent the negative impact of enlarged open pit mining while maintaining the benefit of continued production
A Second-Order Adaptive Network Model for Political Opinion Dynamics
No full textPart 3: Data Mining/ModelingInternational audienceThis paper introduces a second-order adaptive network model for simulating political opinion dynamics, considering cognitive, affective, and social factors. The model, grounded in political psychology and communication theories, illustrates how individuals’ opinions evolve in response to external stimuli such as political parties and media. It also explores the impact of individuals’ reasoning abilities and initial viewpoints on their rationality and cognitive flexibility. Through simulation experiments, the paper demonstrates the model’s capacity to generate realistic outcomes such as homophily and polarization phenomena. It further discusses the model’s implications for mitigating misinformation spread and reducing polarization in political opinion dynamics, identifying key influencing factors and potential interventions. The paper contributes to computational politics by offering an innovative approach to modeling individual and collective opinion formation processes, acknowledging the complexity and adaptivity of cognitive, affective, and social dynamics
Fertilization: trade-offs between manure abatement and plant productivity
Full text linkIn 2005, 30% of the Flemish farms faced a manure excess, while at aggregated level still 9.7% of the emission rights were unused. This means that, despite the various possibilities, Flemish farmers do not succeed in an effective exchange of manure between farms. In current paper is shown how inorganic fertilizer use influences the use and exchange of organic nitrogen. Because of the mutual interdependency between organic and inorganic nitrogen emission rights (or quota), inorganic nitrogen use limits the emission rights for organic nitrogen. Utilisation of these emission rights are analysed as a trade-offs choice between plant productivity (use of inorganic nitrogen) and manure disposal, as the major abatement alternative of manure production. Farmers still prefer inorganic fertilizers because of their effect on plant productivity and income. However, by changing the quota rent of organic nitrogen, the fertilization behaviour can be influenced. A higher quota rent of organic nitrogen would increase the use of manure. This trade-off behaviour seriously influences effectiveness of policies. When the objective is to lower the total nitrogen use, a mere reduction of organic quota can partially be counteracted by a higher inorganic nitrogen use. When the objective is to better spread the manure, increasing the quota rent for deficit farms will increase their acceptance of manure.manure abatement, nutrient emission rights, Tobit model, Crop Production/Industries,
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