A multicriteria model for the assessment of rural development plans in Greece

In the last decades rural communities face the problems of ageing of population, high share of elder farmers and imbalanced distribution of farmers across age classes. The Rural Development Plans (RDPs) of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in European Union (EU) are the policy instruments that affect agriculture and the people living in rural areas. The RDP measure “Setting up Young Farmers” aims to fight the demographic problems of these areas. This study is an attempt to highlight the role and the impacts of RDPs and especially of the “Setting up Young Farmers” measure in the prefecture of Thessaloniki in Greece. To this end, a multicriteria mathematical programming model was implemented. This methodology was chosen using the Knowledge Brokerage Approach in the context of the LIAISE project, which proposes a set of support modules that are linked to the impact assessment process with a final goal to support future policies and design. The results showed that the “Setting up young farmers” measure achieved its goals to transfer land to young, trained farmers, to offset the set-up costs faced by young people when establishing themselves in farming.     

Further participatory adaptation is required for community leaders to champion conservation agriculture in Africa

There is a recognized need for the participation of local communities in designing and implementing agricultural interventions for the sustainable intensification in smallholder systems. This study examines the perspectives of local community leaders towards the widely promoted, but not widely adopted, practice of Conservation Agriculture (CA) in African smallholder systems. Perceptions from 47 community leaders (both from traditional local authorities and farmer organizations) across six African countries are documented regarding how CA matches the wants, needs and capabilities of farmers in their communities. While community leaders generally perceived CA as potentially beneficial, they also indicated that CA is not currently perceived as feasible within their communities and hence has limited relevance. Three key themes were identified that limit both CA use and sustainable intensification more generally: [1] a perceived reluctance of farmers to engage with the community platform as part of a higher input, market-oriented production system; [2] informational constraints due to non-functional exchange mechanisms; and [3] a lack of local adaptation of CA underscored by the persistence of top-down, linear research and extension approaches. Through greater understanding of local perspectives, a clearer picture emerges of the need for greater participatory engagement and local adaptation if sustainable intensification of African smallholder agricultural systems is to be achieved.     

The impact of variation in reporting practices on the validity of recommended birdstrike risk assessment processes for aerodromes

Birdstrikes are a major hazard to aviation; costing millions of pounds a year in damage and delays, as well as occasional hull losses and loss of life. The numbers and species of birds on and around airfields therefore need to be managed. To aid this process, airport staff often use risk assessments to identify which bird species cause the greatest risk and use the outcome to target their bird control effort. To this end, a number of national and international regulators, airports and other organisations recommend, or use, a derivation of a risk assessment process first published in 2006. This was developed using the UK Civil Aviation Authority's birdstrike database, employing data collected between 1976 and 1996. The risk assessment process relies on using the proportion of reported strikes that cause damage to the aircraft as a proxy for the likely severity of the outcome of strike incidents, so any change in the relative level of reporting of damaging and non-damaging strikes may significantly bias the results. The implementation of mandatory birdstrike reporting by the UK CAA in 2004 led to a significant increase in the number of strikes reported. If this involved a disproportionate increase in the number of non-damaging compared to damaging incidents reported, it may have impacted on the accuracy of the risk assessment process. This paper examines how differential reporting of damaging and non-damaging strikes can impact on the risk assessment process. It shows that changes in reporting practices since the original risk assessment was developed have impacted on the apparent birdstrike risk at UK airports, giving a false impression of increasing risk over the period. It makes recommendations for how the process can be better adapted to cope with such changes in the future, and how it should be modified for use in countries with different reporting regimes to that in the UK.     

Curriculum assessment through a capstone course: a case study in hospitality and tourism programs

The purpose of this study was to develop a systematic process that other educational institutions and programs could follow to establish a consistent and accurate evaluation method for a capstone course. Hospitality industry professionals and hospitality management faculty were interviewed through focus-group discussions, and a post-focus-group survey was conducted to determine a weighted percentage for each of the nine determined content domains. A test blueprint for a hospitality management capstone course was developed to measure programmatic student learning outcomes based on the weighted domains determined through this study. The results provide a usable instrument for hospitality and tourism management programs to enhance their current assessment methodology.     

农业产业扶贫应解决好的几个问题

产业扶贫是脱贫攻坚的重头戏。农业是贫困地区的基础产业和民生产业,是贫困人口生活和收入的重要来源。文章分析了当前农业产业扶贫中存在的困难和问题,提出要树立精准理念、选准特色产业、培育新型主体、完善利益机制、编制科学规划、加大投入力度、强化保险支持,确保贫困人口通过产业发展精准受益,如期实现脱贫。     

农业综合标准化大有可为

综合标准化方法十分适合农业生产的特点,它为农业标准化的深入发展开辟了道路。文章通过实例,论述了农业综合标准化在发展“精细农业”和实现农业集约化经营方面广阔的应用前景。     

基于改进模糊综合评价的走行部安全评估方法研究

采用改进层次分析法分析轮对轴箱装置、构架、弹簧悬挂装置、中央牵引装置、基础制动装置、驱动装置及相互之间的重要度,采用模糊综合评价方法建立城市轨道交通车辆走行部综合安全评估模型进行评估。在改进层次分析法中,提出采用聚类分析采集模糊风险评价集中的风险隶属度矩阵。针对评估结果探讨了采用风险控制措施降低风险的方法。     

基于模糊层次分析法的合同能源管理项目风险综合评价

以合同能源管理项目为研究对象,结合我国社会经济发展现状,分析了我国合同能源管理项目实施过程中存在的政策与市场、融资以及运营与效益三方面风险,并运用模糊层次分析法对合同能源管理项目进行了风险评价。     

卷烟企业品牌风险管理研究

品牌是企业核心价值与核心竞争力的重要体现,实施卷烟品牌战略对于卷烟企业可持续发展具有重要的推动作用。卷烟品牌风险管理作为卷烟企业品牌战略的重要组成部分,是卷烟企业进一步加强品牌战略的重要保证。本文通过分析卷烟品牌价值链中风险的形成机理,建立了集风险识别、风险评估、风险控制于一体的卷烟品牌风险管理体系,为卷烟企业强化品牌管理、构建品牌战略提供了可借鉴的研究成果。     

房地产项目开发建设对城市环境影响分析

介绍了房地产开发项目的产业政策及分类管理,分析了项目施工期对环境造成的不利影响及外部环境因素对项目本身的影响,并提出了相应的对策和评价标准。为环境影响评价工作者正确评价房地产开发项目的环境影响提供参考。