Viewpoints on Cooperative Peatland Management: Expectations and Motives of Dutch Farmers

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1326
Author(s):  
Johanna Norris ◽  
Bettina Matzdorf ◽  
Rena Barghusen ◽  
Christoph Schulze ◽  
Bart van Gorcum
Keyword(s):  
Q Methodology ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
National Level ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Peat Soils ◽  
Funding Sources ◽  
Agricultural Emissions ◽  
Future Policy

The European Union (EU) is globally the second highest emitter of greenhouse gases from drained peatlands. On the national level, 15% of agricultural peat soils in the Netherlands are responsible for 34% of agricultural emissions. Crucial to any successful policy is a better understanding of the behavioral change it will bring about among the target groups. Thus, we aim to explore farmers’ differing viewpoints to discuss how policy and planning can be improved to ensure landscape-scale climate mitigation on agriculturally used peatlands. Q methodology was used to interview fifteen farmers on Dutch peat soils, whereby 37 statements were ranked in a grid according to their level of agreement. Factor analysis revealed three main viewpoints: farmers with a higher peat proportion show an urgency in continuing to use their land (‘cooperative businesspeople’), while ‘independent opportunists’ are wary of cooperation compromising their sense of autonomy. Farmers who are ‘conditional land stewards’ are open to agriculture without drainage but require appropriate payments to do so. Future policy design must focus on providing support to farmers that go beyond compensation payments by providing information about funding sources as well as potential business models for peatland uses with raised water tables.

scholarly journals Transforming Universities for the Digital Age - Policies – Business Models – Resources

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Szalma
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Career Guidance ◽  
Student Mobility ◽  
Classical Model ◽  
National Level ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Institutional Leadership ◽  
Strategic Factor ◽  
E Learning

Higher education systems in the European Union are operating in an increasingly fast-changing and competitive environment. They have to tackle key issues dealing with massification, career guidance, cost-efficiency, international attractiveness, student mobility. At a more operational level, digital practices and technologies support the change of several aspects of higher education institutions and new players providing expertise and methodologies undermine the classical model of university as a leading knowledge producer and disseminator.Such major transformations require modern governance arrangements and dynamic leadership. As outlined in the EU Modernization Agenda of Higher Education (2011), the major bottleneck found is the staff competence and preparedness, more specifically at the institutional leadership and executive management level.The interest for e-learning is not new but contrary to the obvious interest for equipment or management, this has not been enough for e-learning to impose itself. As stated by Paul Bacsich (2011) the presence of ICT in universities is a reality but the education transformation has not yet taken place. So far, initiatives are generally focused on operational (managerial) aspects. The D-TRANSFORM project starting in 2014 and ending in 2017[1] was the first European-funded project focusing on the fundamental strategic aspects of digital innovation of Higher Education. Through leadership schools, MOOCs, guidelines and stat-of-the-art reports it helped university governing bodies to define their own digital strategies and coordinate them with public policies defined at the European/national level and to be able to plan e-education according to the university needs and profile.[1] DigiTal Resources As a New Strategic FactOr for a Renovation and Modernization in HEType: Initiative supported by the ERASMUS+(2014- 2017)Budget: 1 M$

scholarly journals Fintech: A Literature Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 80
Author(s):  
Ferdinando Giglio
Keyword(s):  
Financial Services ◽  
Financial Stability ◽  
Business Models ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
National Level ◽  
Industrial Sector ◽  
World Bank Group ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Acceleration Force ◽  
Bank Group

This article analyzes the Fintech evolution. After describing the process of this phenomenon, some of the main definitions are provided both nationally and internationally. Finally, six main models of Fintech are analyzed. Through a systematic literature, 14 articles have been selected that deal with the phenomenon of Fintech. Six Fintech business models implemented by the ever growing number of Fintech startups have been identified, payment, wealth management, crowdfunding, loan, capital market and insurance services. Internationally, Fintech has already been defined by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank Group (WBG), the Financial Stability Board (FSB), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). On a national level, on the other hand, Fintech has been analyzed by various countries, USA, United Kingdom, Singapore, China, Switzerland, China, Australia and the European Union. Fintech refers to a broad set of innovations - observable in the financial field in a broad sense - which are made possible by the use of new technologies both in the offer of services to end users and in the internal production processes of financial operators as well as in the design of market enterprises, without thereby compromising new possible configurations of intersectoral activities. Fintech appears to be representative of innovative methods - based on technology - of carrying out activities directly or indirectly connected to financial services rather than being a pre-defined industrial sector. Following the logic of the digital economy, Fintech contributes to designing an open and continuous network of modular services for businesses, individuals and banking, financial and insurance intermediaries, becoming a powerful acceleration force for the integration policies of the financial services markets in the EU.

The new European crowdfunding regulation: facilitating cross-border services

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Brand
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Funding Sources ◽  
Capital Markets Union ◽  
The Impact

Purpose To explain the new Crowdfunding Regulation to market participants and to describe the impact of the Crowdfunding Regulation on current crowdfunding business models in the European Union. Design/methodology/approach This article provides an overview of the new Crowdfunding Regulation with a focus on the provisions concerning cross-border services (“European Passport”) and the new authorization requirements for crowdfunding service providers. Findings In particular the introduction of the European passport will open new funding sources for project owners. This together with the harmonized authorization requirements of crowdfunding service providers is expected to contribute to further growth of the crowdfunding market in the European Union. The Crowdfunding Regulation is a further step on the way to a Capital Markets Union in Europe and regulates crowdfunding for the first time on a European level. Practical implications The Crowdfunding Regulation does not cover all existing crowdfunding business models in Europe (e.g., consumer as project owners and qualified subordinated loans are exempted). Insofar, the rules of the Member States continue to apply with the consequence of a partial fragmentation of applicable regulations. Originality/value Expert guidance from experienced financial-services lawyer.

Should Attitudinal Views toward Innovation Development Play a Role in Policy in Peripheral EU Regions?: New Evidence from Vouchers Program in Northern Ireland

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-137
Author(s):  
Sean M. McDonald ◽  
Remi C. Claire ◽  
Alastair H. McPherson
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
Regional Economic Development ◽  
Innovation Development ◽  
Regional Economic ◽  
Eu Regions ◽  
Future Policy ◽  
The Impact ◽  
New Evidence

The impact and effectiveness of policies to support collaboration for Research & Development (R&D) and Innovation is critical to determining the success of regional economic development. (O’Kane, 2008) The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the level of success of the Innovation Vouchers Program operated by Invest Northern Ireland (Invest NI) from 2009 to 2013 and address if attitudinal views towards innovation development should play in a role in future policy design in peripheral EU regions. 

European experience in transition to circular economy

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 598-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.V. Ratner
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
National Level ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Scientific Methods ◽  
European Experience ◽  
General Scientific ◽  
The Eu

Subject. The article considers the concept of circular economy, which has originated relatively recently in the academic literature, and is now increasingly recognized in many countries at the national level. In the European Union, the transition to circular economy is viewed as an opportunity to improve competitiveness of the European Union, protect businesses from resource shortages and fluctuating prices for raw materials and supplies, and a way to increase employment and innovation. Objectives. The aim of the study is to analyze the incentives developed by the European Commission for moving to circular economy, and to assess their effectiveness on the basis of statistical analysis. Methods. I employ general scientific methods of research. Results. The analysis of the EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy enabled to conclude that the results of the recent research in circular economy barriers, eco-innovation, technology and infrastructure were successfully integrated into the framework of this document. Understanding the root causes holding back the circular economy development and the balanced combination of economic and administrative incentives strengthened the Action Plan, and it contributed to the circular economy development in the EU. Conclusions. The measures to stimulate the development of the circular economy proposed in the European Action Plan can be viewed as a prototype for designing similar strategies in other countries, including Russia. Meanwhile, a more detailed analysis of barriers to the circular economy at the level of individual countries and regions is needed.

Analysis of Land Use Land Cover in Annapurna Conservation Area in Gandaki Province, Nepal using Vegetation Index and Land Use Land Cover Datasets

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-99
Author(s):  
Shiva Pokhrel ◽  
Chungla Sherpa
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
National Level ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Land Use Land Cover ◽  
Conservation Area ◽  
Barren Land ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Annapurna Conservation Area

Conservation areas are originally well-known for protecting landscape features and wildlife. They are playing key role in conserving and providing a wide range of ecosystem services, social, economic and cultural benefits as well as vital places for climate mitigation and adaptation. We have analyzed decadal changes in land cover and status of vegetation cover in the conservation area using both national level available data on land use land cover (LULC) changes (1990-2010) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) (2010-2018) in Annapurna conservation area. LULC showed the barren land as the most dominant land cover types in all three different time series 1990, 2000 and 2010 with followed by snow cover, grassland, forest, agriculture and water body. The highest NDVI values were observed at Southern, Southwestern and Southeastern part of conservation area consisting of forest area, shrub land and grassland while toward low to negative in the upper middle to the Northern part of the conservation area.

scholarly journals Circular Bioeconomy Business Models to Overcome the Valley of Death. A Systematic Statistical Analysis of Studies and Projects in Emerging Bio-Based Technologies and Trends Linked to the SME Instrument Support

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1899
Author(s):  
Fabiana Gatto ◽  
Ilaria Re
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Future Perspective ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Strategic Orientations ◽  
Start Ups ◽  
Valley Of Death

Reducing the environmental pressure along the products life cycle, increasing efficiency in the consumption of resources and use of renewable raw materials, and shifting the economic system toward a circular and a climate-neutral model represent the heart of the current macro-trends of the European Union (EU) policy agendas. The circular economy and bioeconomy concepts introduced in the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan and the Bioeconomy Strategy support innovation in rethinking economic systems focusing on market uptaking of greener solutions based on less-intensive resource consumption. In recent decades, industrial research has devoted enormous investments to demonstrate sustainable circular bio-based business models capable of overcoming the “Valley of Death” through alternative strategic orientations of “technological-push” and “market-pull”. The study highlights industrial research’s evolution on bio-based circular business model validation, trends, and topics with particular attention to the empowering capacity of start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to close the loops in renewable biological use and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The research methodology involves a bibliographic search based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach and the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Data Hub investigation to understand SMEs’ key success factors and start-ups of the circular bioeconomy sector. Eco and bio-based materials, nutraceuticals, and microalgae represent the most sustainable industry applications, leading to circular bioeconomy business models’ future perspective.

National quality indicators to promote cardiac rehabilitation service effectiveness in Australia

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
R Gallagher ◽  
C Astley ◽  
E Thomas ◽  
R Zecchin ◽  
C Ferry ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cardiac Rehabilitation ◽  
Quality Indicators ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Cardiovascular Health ◽  
National Level ◽  
Clinical Effectiveness ◽  
Rehabilitation Service ◽  
Service Improvement ◽  
Consistency Checking ◽  
National Quality

Abstract Background/Introduction Comprehensive exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) has well-established efficacy and effectiveness for improving patients' outcomes. There is substantial variability in terms of clinical effectiveness and quality measurement of CR programs internationally which limits service improvement initiatives. In Australia in 2018 a the Australian Cardiovascular Health and Rehabilitation Association (ACRA) and the National Heart Foundation of Australia (NHFA) combined forces to develop nationally-agreed, internationally-consistent, locally-relevant quality indicators (QI). Purpose To provide a minimum set of standardised national-level QI that should be collected and reported on by CR programs to determine the quality of delivery and associated outcomes, benchmark performance and support improvement processes. Methods We formed the National Cardiac Rehabilitation Measurement (NCRM) Taskforce led by ACRA and NHF and used the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) UK guidelines to develop high quality QIs. The process included topic overview, prioritising areas for quality improvement, drafting and consultation, validation and consistency checking. Results Eleven preliminary QIs were circulated for ranking and comment to all ACRA members (predominately multidisciplinary CR providers) (68 responses), and to leading national multidisciplinary CR experts from cardiology, research, physiotherapy, nursing, epidemiology and register backgrounds (7 responses). Ratings, comments and suggestions were collated and discussed by the NCRM Taskforce, and the indicators rated most important, useful and feasible were retained, resulting in 10 QIs. These 10 QIs were presented at the ACRA national conference and then discussed at a workshop (55 participants) for this purpose. Ten QIs and accompanying data dictionary with definitions, evidence and allowable values is the final product. Conclusions A minimum set of locally relevant, internationally recognised, national QIs for CR is now available for CR providers, health service managers and researchers in Australia, which may be relevant internationally. The QIs will best serve national interests incorporated within a national cardiac registry but will also be useful for site audits and have strong potential to be aggregated across sites, health districts and states. The definitive test of the QIs will be how useful they are for CR program coordinators and funders of such programs; a key consideration for building sustainable business models and ensuring long-term implementation. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None

scholarly journals Economic burden of work injuries and diseases: a framework and application in five European Union countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emile Tompa ◽  
Amirabbas Mofidi ◽  
Swenneke van den Heuvel ◽  
Thijmen van Bree ◽  
Frithjof Michaelsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Economic Burden ◽  
National Level ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Indirect Costs ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Work Injuries ◽  
European Union Countries ◽  
Related Quality

Abstract Background Estimates of the economic burden of work injuries and diseases can help policymakers prioritize occupational health and safety policies and interventions in order to best allocate scarce resources. Several attempts have been made to estimate these economic burdens at the national level, but most have not included a comprehensive list of cost components, and none have attempted to implement a standard approach across several countries. The aim of our study is to develop a framework for estimating the economic burden of work injuries and diseases and implement it for selected European Union countries. Methods We develop an incidence cost framework using a bottom-up approach to estimate the societal burden of work injuries and diseases and implement it for five European Union countries. Three broad categories of costs are considered—direct healthcare, indirect productivity and intangible health-related quality of life costs. We begin with data on newly diagnosed work injuries and diseases from calendar year 2015. We consider lifetime costs for cases across all categories and incurred by all stakeholders. Sensitivity analysis is undertaken for key parameters. Results Indirect costs are the largest part of the economic burden, then direct costs and intangible costs. As a percentage of GDP, the highest overall costs are for Poland (10.4%), then Italy (6.7%), The Netherlands (3.6%), Germany (3.3%) and Finland (2.7%). The Netherlands has the highest per case costs (€75,342), then Italy (€58,411), Germany (€44,919), Finland (€43,069) and Poland (€38,918). Costs per working-age population are highest for Italy (€4956), then The Netherlands (€2930), Poland (€2793), Germany (€2527) and Finland (€2331). Conclusions Our framework serves as a template for estimating the economic burden of work injuries and diseases across countries in the European Union and elsewhere. Results can assist policymakers with identifying health and safety priority areas based on the magnitude of components, particularly when stratified by key characteristics such as industry, injury/disease, age and sex. Case costing can serve as an input into the economic evaluation of prevention initiatives. Comparisons across countries provide insights into the relevant performance of health and safety systems.

scholarly journals The Role of Spatio-Temporal Information to Govern the COVID-19 Pandemic: A European Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 166
Author(s):  
Hartmut Müller ◽  
Marije Louwsma
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
National Level ◽  
Temporal Information ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Heavy Burden ◽  
Spatio Temporal

The Covid-19 pandemic put a heavy burden on member states in the European Union. To govern the pandemic, having access to reliable geo-information is key for monitoring the spatial distribution of the outbreak over time. This study aims to analyze the role of spatio-temporal information in governing the pandemic in the European Union and its member states. The European Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) system and selected national dashboards from member states were assessed to analyze which spatio-temporal information was used, how the information was visualized and whether this changed over the course of the pandemic. Initially, member states focused on their own jurisdiction by creating national dashboards to monitor the pandemic. Information between member states was not aligned. Producing reliable data and timeliness reporting was problematic, just like selecting indictors to monitor the spatial distribution and intensity of the outbreak. Over the course of the pandemic, with more knowledge about the virus and its characteristics, interventions of member states to govern the outbreak were better aligned at the European level. However, further integration and alignment of public health data, statistical data and spatio-temporal data could provide even better information for governments and actors involved in managing the outbreak, both at national and supra-national level. The Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe (INSPIRE) initiative and the NUTS system provide a framework to guide future integration and extension of existing systems.

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