A comparative study of difficulties in accounting preparation and judgement in agriculture using fair value and historical cost accounting for biological assets valuation

This paper presents empirical research comparing the accounting difficulties that arise from the use of two valuation methods for biological assets, fair value (FV) and historical cost (HC) accounting, in the agricultural sector. It also compares how reliable each valuation method is in the decision-making process of agents within the sector. By conducting an experiment with students, farmers, and accountants operating in the agricultural sector, we find that they have more difficulties, make larger miscalculations and make poorer judgements with HC accounting than with FV accounting. In-depth interviews uncover flawed accounting practices in the agricultural sector in Spain in order to meet HC accounting requirements. Given the complexities of cost calculation for biological assets and the predominance of small family business units in advanced Western countries, the study concludes that accounting can be more easily applied in the agricultural sector under FV than HC accounting, and that HC conveys a less accurate grasp of the real situation of a farm.

Survival of European patients diagnosed with lymphoid neoplasms in 2000-2002: results of the HAEMACARE project

The European Cancer Registry-based project on hematologic malignancies (HAEMACARE), setup to improve the availability and standardization of data on hematologic malignancies in Europe, used the European Cancer Registry-based project on survival and care of cancer patients (EUROCARE-4) database to produce a new grouping of hematologic neoplasma(defined by the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, Third Edition and the 2001/2008 World Health Organization classifications) for epidemiological and public healthpurposes. We analyzed survival for lymphoid neoplasms in Europe by disease group, comparing survival between different European regions by age and sex. Design and Methods Incident neoplasms recorded between 1995 to 2002 in 48 population-based cancer registries in 20 countries participating in EUROCARE-4 were analyzed. The period approach was used to estimate 5-year relative survival rates for patients diagnosed in 2000-2002, who did not have 5years of follow up. Results: The 5-year relative survival rate was 57% overall but varied markedly between the definedgroups. Variation in survival within the groups was relatively limited across European regions and less than in previous years. Survival differences between men and women were small. The relative survival for patients with all lymphoid neoplasms decreased substantially after the age of 50. The proportion of ‘not otherwise specified’ diagnoses increased with advancing age.Conclusions: This is the first study to analyze survival of patients with lymphoid neoplasms, divided into groups characterized by similar epidemiological and clinical characteristics, providing a benchmarkfor more detailed analyses. This Europe-wide study suggests that previously noted differences in survival between regions have tended to decrease. The survival of patients with all neoplasms decreased markedly with age, while the proportion of ‘not otherwise specified’ diagnoses increased with advancing age. Thus the quality of diagnostic work-up and care decreased with age, suggesting that older patients may not be receiving optimal treatment

Ninety-day oral toxicity studies on two genetically modified maize MON810 varieties in Wistar Han RCC rats (EU 7th Framework Programme project GRACE)

The GMO Risk Assessment and Communication of Evidence (GRACE; www.grace-fp7.eu) project is funded by the European Commission within the 7th Framework Programme. A key objective of GRACE is to conduct 90-day animal feeding trials, animal studies with an extended time frame as well as analytical, in vitro and in silico studies on genetically modified (GM) maize in order to comparatively evaluate their use in GM plant risk assessment. In the present study, the results of two 90-day feeding trials with two different GM maize MON810 varieties, their near-isogenic non-GM varieties and four additional conventional maize varieties are presented. The feeding trials were performed by taking into account the guidance for such studies published by the EFSA Scientific Committee in 2011 and the OECD Test Guideline 408. The results obtained show that the MON810 maize at a level of up to 33 % in the diet did not induce adverse effects in male and female Wistar Han RCC rats after subchronic exposure, independently of the two different genetic backgrounds of the event

Consumer valuation of energy-saving features of residential air conditioners with hedonic and choice models

The promotion of energy-efficient appliances is necessary to reduce the energetic and environmental burden of the household sector. However, many studies have reported that a typical consumer underestimates the benefits of energy-saving investment on the purchase of household electric appliances. To analyze this energy-efficiency gap problem, many scholars have estimated implicit discount rates that consumers use for energy-consuming durables. Although both hedonic and choice models have been used in previous studies, a comparison between two models has not yet been done. This study uses point of sale data about Japanese residential air conditioners and estimates implicit discounts rates with both hedonic and choice models. Both models demonstrate that a typical consumer underinvests in energy efficiency. Although choice models estimate a lower implicit discount rate than hedonic models, the latter models estimate the values of other product characteristics more consistently than choice models.

Construcció d'un refugi situat al terme municipal de Vallfogona de Ripollès, pensat com a final d'etapa per a rutes a cavall

Els negocis relacionats amb les activitats de lleure i els esports d’aventura actualment es troben en expansió, buscant majoritàriament el contacte amb la natura. Les rutes a cavall formen part del gran ventall d’opcions, per aquesta qüestió s’ha pensat en construir un refugi utilitzat com a final d’etapa per a rutes a cavall. En la major part del territori, la presència de població humana es manifesta en pobles, viles i ciutats, les quals disposes d’aigua sanitària, corrent elèctric i sistema de clavegueram. Per altra banda en les urbanitzacions o cases aïllades poder gaudir d’aquests serveis suposa una inversió econòmica elevada, que implica la utilització de sistemes alternatius. En el present projecte s’ha triat un emplaçament on portar a terme el final d’etapa amb una sèrie de requisits a complir : bosc a les proximitats, disposar d’un o varis accessos per a vehicles (transport del material d’intendència), tranquil•litat, bones vistes, i cobertura de telèfon mòbil. S’han acceptat les següents limitacions : no disposar de xarxa pública d’electricitat ni d’aigua. I s’han dimensionat les instal•lacions per a un màxim de dotze persones i els seus respectius cavalls. El principal objectiu del projecte és el dimensionament de les necessitats elèctriques, d’aigua i d’aiguacalenta sanitària en condicions autònomes, i utilitzant energies renovables. La valoració de les possibles solucions per condicionar les instal•lacions, i oferir una resposta eficient per la demanda. No és un objectiu específic del treball la potabilització de l’aigua ni el tractament dels residus produïts. S’han aprofitat els diferents desnivells que presenta l’emplaçament triat a l’hora de distribuir les instal•lacions, i s’ha utilitzat un antic cobert de dos pisos ja existent. Com a residència s’ha triat un model de casa prefabricada de muntanya. Com a sistema de subministrament elèctric, s’instal•laran plaques solars fotovoltaiques i un generador de corrent com a sistema auxiliar. La captació d’aigua s’efectuarà a partir d’un pou que es troba en el terreny i de la recollida d el’aigua pluvial, instal•lant dipòsits d’emmagatzemament d’aigua segons les necessitats. S’utilitzarà un equip de cloració per potabilitzar l’aigua de consum utilitzada a la residència. En la producció d’aigua calenta sanitària s’utilitzaran plaques solars tèrmiques i una caldera instantània de gas propà com a suport. Per cuinar s’ha triat una cuina de gas propà i una barbacoa que s’instal•larà a l’exterior. S’instal•larà una llar de foc amb recuperador d’aire a la residència i una fosa sèptica amb un sistema d’infiltració per poder abocar les aigües provinents de la residència. Els fems dels cavalls podran ser utilitzats com adob pel terreny.

El proyecto 'Ciutat, territori, paisatge': un recurso innovador para la educación en el paisaje en la enseñanza secundaria = The project 'City, territory, countryside', an innovative resource for educating about the countryside in secondary education

The far-reaching, fast-moving changes –diffuse urbanisation, building infrastructure, moving away from agricultural space, etc.– suffered by the countryside in most European countries makes it important to have education about the countryside in place to help secondary students interpret their environment and assess the importance of managing the territory to achieve a medium ordered at human scale. The project «City, territory, countryside» is a set of materials for secondary level that aim for reflection on the countryside, work on basic competences and educating about civic-minded attitudes in students

Project «Water and Environment»: Improving educational practices in the aquatic environment

The project "Water and Environment"for the improvement of educational practices in the aquatic environment, is a research project led by four members of the Research Group of Physical Education at the University of Vic (GREF) experts in water activities. The aim is to train the technicians who teach swimming during school hours. The training is based on improving water treatment practices and competence to face a contradictory scene where clubs develop educational content and where schools transfer to clubs part of its educational activity to contribute significantly and positively to water activities fitting the educational curriculum.