1,720,971 research outputs found
Factors influencing Italian consumers’ willingness to buy and pay for insect-fed poultry products
No full textThe use of insects as a protein source in feed production can significantly improve the sustainability of livestock
production. Despite several environmental and animal welfare benefits, the economic sustainability of such an
approach depends on the level of consumer acceptance and willingness to pay for insect-fed poultry diets. Using
the results of an online survey of more than 850 Italian consumers, we first examine the main differences between
two groups of consumers: those who are willing to buy insect-fed poultry meat and eggs and those who are
not. The t-test is used to search for statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of their
stated preferences for key food attributes that influence purchase decisions, as well as their view on food safety,
quality and environmental issues. We then use ordered logit regression to estimate the determinants of consumers’
willingness to pay a price premium for insect-fed poultry compared to conventional poultry products. Particular
attention is paid to the possible role of trust in the ability of the food system to provide safe food in influencing
consumers’ preferences. The results show that consumers who are willing to buy insect-fed meat and eggs are more
environmentally aware, have a stronger belief in the crucial role that changes in current food consumption patterns
can play for the environment and social well-being, and have a higher level of trust in the system that guarantees
food safety. The willingness to pay a price premium for insect-fed poultry food is mainly influenced by respondents’
beliefs about insect-fed poultry food, especially in terms of its expected quality characteristics and animal welfare.
Findings from this analysis could provide insights into investments to ensure the economic sustainability of a more
circular supply chain
Effects of different soil managements in vineyards to slope stability
No full textShallow landslides and soil erosion, induced by intense rainy events, are the most widespread slope
instabilities that occur in vineyards cultivated along hillslopes. They could cause severe damages in
the inter-row space and produce loss of soils characterized for high productivity levels. This fact
provokes also land degradation and abandonment in cultivated areas. As a consequence of the
higher diffusion of these extreme events in some European regions (e.g. Italy, France, Spain,
Germany, Slovenia), it is necessary finding not invasive interventions, able to reduce the
susceptibility of vineyards while preserving ecosystem sustainability. The inter-row soil
managements at farm level could have effects on root distribution and, as consequence, on root
reinforcement.
This study aimed to analyze different agronomic techniques and their effect on root reinforcement
in soil, in order to increase slope stability of vineyards susceptible to shallow damaging events. This
study is supported by Fondazione CARIPLO AttivAree programme - Oltrepò(Bio)diverso project. The
research was conducted in Oltrepò Pavese (North-Western Italy), an hilly area where traditional
viticulture is present on steep slopes soils affected by several shallow landslides and erosions which
caused significant environmental and economic losses.
The parameters related on root density and reinforcement were evaluated under different soil
management techniques (tillage, permanent grass mulching, alternation in the years of tillage and
grass mulching in the inter-row spaces), also in relation to the presence of shallow landslides events.
The techniques characterized to produce positive effects on soil stability were identified. This
analysis, also, would furnish important guidelines in order to apply sustainable farm practices in
vineyards while maintaining better levels of soil biodiversity and fertility and promoting a sustainable
economic rising income of the territory
Influences of agricultural practices on the slope stability of cultivated vineyards
No full textRainfall-induced shallow landslides affect vineyards cultivated along
steep slopes in different European countries, provoking plant
destructions, degradation of farm roads and infrastructures, loss of
fertile soil. As a consequence of climate changes and of increase in
abandoned areas, it is required to find innovative solutions, able to
reduce hazards in vineyards without undermining their ecosystem
and economic sustainability. Soil inter-row space management could
have positive effects on roots distribution and soil reinforcement,
resulting practices that could be diffused in wide areas making
reduction in the proneness to instability. This study analyzes how
different techniques could increase the stability of sloping vineyards.
This research, supported by Fondazione CARIPLO AttivAree programme
- OltrepòBiodiverso project, was conducted in Oltrepò Pavese North-
Western Italy, a hilly area characterized by traditional viticulture on
steep slopes, prone to shallow landslides. Different soil management
practices tillage, permanent grass cover, alternation of tillage and grass
cover were evaluated. Root density and reinforcement parameters were
monitored, in relation to shallow landslides, identifying which practices
could increase stability of susceptible slopes. This research aims to
provide important guidelines for applying sustainable farm practices
in unstable vineyards along wide territories reducing hazards, while
maintaining better levels of soil biodiversity and fertility
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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