Financing social and cohesion policy in an enlarged EU: plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose?

The development of the Open Method of Coordination, agreement on the Lisbon Agenda and EU enlargement offered the prospect of a new and substantial EU social policy agenda. This article considers EU social and cohesion policies in the context of the recent negotiation of the EU budget for 2007—13. We find the Commission's wish to redistribute EU spending in favour of these policy areas and new member states was thwarted by key political features of EU budget making: CAP spending levels which are downwardly sticky; institutional arrangements which provide for budget making as, at best, a zero-sum game; and the preferences of contributor member states in the EU-15 to contain overall spending while preserving their net budget positions. Questions are thus raised as to the ability of the EU to make any progress, from a budgetary perspective, on the social and cohesion policy agenda in an enlarged EU

Agricultural climate change mitigation : Carbon calculators as a guide for decision making

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis Group in International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability on 9 November 2017, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2017.1398628. Under embargo. Embargo end date: 9 November 2018.The dairy industry is receiving considerable attention in relation to both its significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and it’s potential for reducing those emissions, contributing towards meeting national targets and driving the industry towards sustainable intensification. However, the extent to which improvements can be made is dependent on the decision making processes of individual producers, so there has been a proliferation of carbon accounting tools seeking to influence those processes. This paper evaluates the suitability of such tools for driving environmental change by influencing on-farm management decisions. Seven tools suitable for the European dairy industry were identified, their characteristics evaluated, and used to process data relating to six scenario farms, emulating process undertaken in real farm management situations. As a result of the range of approaches taken by the tools, there was limited agreement between them as to GHG emissions magnitude, and no consistent pattern as to which tools resulted in the highest/lowest results. Despite this it is argued, that as there was agreement as to the farm activities responsible for the greatest emissions, the more complex tools were still capable of performing a ‘decision support’ role, and guiding management decisions, whilst others could merely focus attention on key issues.Peer reviewe

Responsible research and innovation: A manifesto for empirical ethics?

In 2013 the Nuffield Council on Bioethics launched their report Novel Neurotechnologies: Intervening in the Brain. The report, which adopts the European Commission's notion of Responsible Research and Innovation, puts forward a set of priorities to guide ethical research into, and the development of, new therapeutic neurotechnologies. In this paper, we critically engage with these priorities. We argue that the Nuffield Council's priorities, and the Responsible Research and Innovation initiative as a whole, are laudable and should guide research and innovation in all areas of healthcare. However, we argue that operationalising Responsible Research and Innovation requires an in-depth understanding of the research and clinical contexts. Providing such an understanding is an important task for empirical ethics. Drawing on examples from sociology, science and technology studies, and related disciplines, we propose four avenues of social science research which can provide such an understanding. We suggest that these avenues can provide a manifesto for empirical ethics.The paper derives from a project that was funded by Wellcome Trust (Wellcome Trust Biomedical Strategic Award 086034)

How did a lower drink‐drive limit affect bar trade and drinking practices?:A qualitative study of how alcohol retailers experienced a change in policy

Introduction and Aims Reducing the legal drink-drive limit from 0.08% to 0.05% blood alcohol concentration (BAC) can reduce road traffic accidents and deaths if properly enforced. Reduced limits may be opposed by alcohol retail and manufacturing industries on the basis of commercial impact. Our aim was to qualitatively explore how a reduction in the drink-drive limit from 0.08% to 0.05% BAC in Scotland, was experienced by bar owners or managers, including any resultant changes in customer drinking or business practice. This is the first study of this type. Design and Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 owners and managers of on-trade premises in Scotland in 2018, approximately 3 years after the drink-drive limit was reduced. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results Most participants reported no long-term financial impact on their business, but a few, mainly from rural areas, reported some reduction in alcohol sales. Observed drinking changes included fewer people drinking after work or leaving premises earlier on weekdays. Adaptations to businesses included improving the range of no/low-alcohol drinks and food offered. Changes such as these were seen as key to minimising economic impact. Discussion and Conclusions Opposition to legislative measures that impact on commercial interests is often strong and receives significant public attention. This study found that Scottish businesses that adapted to the drink-drive limit change reported little long-term economic impact. These findings are of international relevance as potential BAC limit reductions in several other jurisdictions remain the subject of debate, including regarding the impact on business

Banking failure prediction: a boosting classification tree approach

The recent financial crisis shows that failure of some financial institutions can cause other banks to fail and ultimately cause damage to the financial system worldwide. Eurozone banks that experienced either liquidity or solvency problems during the finan- cial markets turmoil were bailed out by their national governments with the financial support and supervision of the European Union. This paper applies the boosted classification tree methodology to predict failure in the banking sector and identifies four key scor- ecard variables that are worth tracking closely in order to anticipate and prevent bank financial distress. The data used in this study comprises 2006-2012 annual series of 25 financial ratios of 155 banks in the Eurozone. The findings indicate that the greater the size and the higher the income from non-operating items and net loans to deposits, the more likely is bank failure; conversely, the higher the Interbank ratio the lower the chances of bank financial distress. For the sake of their own financial soundness, banks should fund lending activities through clients' deposits and should avoid relying excessively on non-recurring sources of income

All work and no pay: consequences of unpaid work experience in the creative industries

This research note evaluates the benefits and pitfalls of unpaid work as an entry route into employment in the creative industries and investigates the consequences of this practice for those who already work in the sector. Based on a qualitative study of perspectives of stakeholders in unpaid work, this article argues that the social capital thesis, often used as a rationale for unpaid work, inadequately explains the practice of unpaid work experience, primarily because it does not take cognisance of the consequences of this practice for other people working in the sector. The study also highlights methodological issues that need to be considered in the future. As well as the importance of a plurality of stakeholder perspectives, the study emphasizes the need to consider the perspectives of those who are excluded from unpaid work and those who are potentially displaced by it

A review of climate change and the implementation of marine biodiversity legislation in the United Kingdom

1. Marine legislation, the key means by which the conservation of marine biodiversity is achieved, has been developing since the 1960s. In recent decades, an increasing focus on ‘holistic’ policy development is evident, compared with earlier ‘piecemeal’ sectoral approaches. Important marine legislative tools being used in the United Kingdom, and internationally, include the designation of marine protected areas and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) with its aim of meeting ‘Good Environmental Status’ (GES) for European seas by 2020. 2. There is growing evidence of climate change impacts on marine biodiversity, which may compromise the effectiveness of any legislation intended to promote sustainable marine resource management. 3. A review of key marine biodiversity legislation relevant to the UK shows climate change was not considered in the drafting of much early legislation. Despite the huge increase in knowledge of climate change impacts in recent decades, legislation is still limited in how it takes these impacts into account. There is scope, however, to account for climate change in implementing much of the legislation through (a) existing references to environmental variability; (b) review cycles; and (c) secondary legislation and complementary policy development. 4. For legislation relating to marine protected areas (e.g. the EC Habitats and Birds Directives), climate change has generally not been considered in the site-designation process, or for ongoing management, with the exception of the Marine (Scotland) Act. Given that changing environmental conditions (e.g. rising temperatures and ocean acidification) directly affect the habitats and species that sites are designated for, how this legislation is used to protect marine biodiversity in a changing climate requires further consideration. 5. Accounting for climate change impacts on marine biodiversity in the development and implementation of legislation is vital to enable timely, adaptive management responses. Marine modelling can play an important role in informing management decisions

Physicochemical and microbiological characteristics of kitoza, a traditional salted/dried/smoked meat product of Madagascar

Kitoza samples collected from producers in Madagascar were analyzed for their physicochemical and microbial properties. Lactic acid bacteria and coagulase‐negative staphylococci were the two codominant populations with average counts of 6–7 log cfu/g. Good hygienic practices were sometimes lacking but samples were not contaminated with Salmonella, Clostridium perfringens, and Bacillus cereus and only once with Listeria monocytogenes. Staphylococcus aureus was found occasionally with higher counts in salted/dried products than in salted/smoked products. Moisture, protein, fat, and salt contents varied considerably and were on average 41.5, 43.5, 14.3, and 3.3 g/100 g, respectively, and water activity was 0.893 on average. Smoked kitoza showed higher moisture content compared to dried kitoza. Most of the smoked kitoza had a water activity higher than 0.9 which is not in accordance with their storage at ambient temperatures. Benzo(a)pyrene content was above 2 µg/kg in 11 out of 30 smoked samples (17 ± 16.5 µg/kg on average)