Universal service and disabled people

The EU regulatory framework enacted 25 May 2011 has the objective to provide functionally equal access to telecommunication services for disabled persons. What are the rules, who are the target groups, and what obstacles do they face when using various telecommunication services? And what arrangements do exist in a selected group of six EU Member States to remove these obstacles? Recommendations include the introduction of a more market-oriented approach, independent of specific networks.     

Exploring the market for breakthrough technologies

In this article, the gap between futures research (long term) and market research (short term) is closed in two ways. Firstly, by describing methods of market exploration that can be used earlier on in the process of development and diffusion of breakthrough technologies, so market research can be applied along with futures research. Secondly, the gap is closed by actually combining futures research and market research. We start the article from the perspective of the market research discipline and describe the problems in market research that require new approaches. The validity of market research results is often low when breakthrough technologies enter the market. To investigate this problem, assumptions for valid market research results are presented. In some cases, when breakthrough technologies first enter the market, these assumptions do not hold and market research becomes problematic whereas in other cases customers' needs and preferences are not an issue at all and attention focuses on technological issues. Potential solutions to explore the market in the former cases are suggested. Four approaches are distinguished: (1) adapting existing methods; (2) combining consumer research with market structure analysis or futures research; (3) using theoretic models; and (4) probe and learn approaches. These approaches require different subsets of assumptions and are therefore applicable in different situations.     

Multi-Method Triangulation in a Qualitative Study on Teachers' Practical Knowledge: An Attempt to Increase Internal Validity

This article describes multi-method triangulation as a means to enhance the internal validity in a qualitative study on language teachers' practical knowledge. Teachers' practical knowledge is viewed as a multi-dimensional concept, requiring multiple instruments for its exploration. In the triangulation procedure, data collected with three instruments were analysed and related to each other. Three steps of analysis, preceded by a pre-analysis step, were used to combine these data. The triangulation procedure culminated in a fairly comprehensive understanding of teachers' practical knowledge with respect to the teaching of reading comprehension to 16- to 18-year-old students. It was concluded that multi-method triangulation is a worthwhile procedure to enhance the internal validity in qualitative studies on a complex topic such as teachers' practical knowledge.     

收费站排队长度测量的视频检测方法

视频检测技术因具有直观、功能多、非接触检测等优点在智能交通领域的应用越来越广泛。视频检测可以在高速公路或隧道中用于自动检测停车、撞车、逆行、遗撒物、行人、烟火等交通事件，同时采集车流量等交通数据；还可用于在城市路口检测车辆存在信息，为交通信号机提供触发信号，优化信号控制。本文主要介绍如何通过视频检测技术测量收费站的车辆排队长度，以及当排队长度超过阀值时自动报警。     

Self-initiated nature conservation by farmers: an analysis of Dutch farming

In Europe, the active contribution of farmers to nature conservation is mainly voluntary. Whereas participation in agri-environmental schemes (AES) has been studied in detail, less is known about self-initiated nature conservation. Given the alarming decline in species diversity and abundance in agricultural landscapes, it is important to explore this form of conservation in more detail. In this paper we report on the results of a survey of Dutch dairy and arable farmers. We conclude that a large majority of farmers conduct self-initiated conservation activities on their farmyards and fields with varying ecological impacts and impacts on farming system. Helping birds was the most often mentioned activity. Farm size, on-farm side activities (in dairy farming), organic farming, the quality of the surrounding area and the absence of external constraints have a positive effect on the number of activities. Intensity has a negative effect on both the number of activities and on the probability that farmers conduct activities with substantial ecological impacts. There is no unambiguous evidence of a ‘crowding-out effect’ due to participation in AES. More research in this area can help contributing to a maximal exploitation of the conservation potential by farmers and to creating synergies with agri-environmental policies.     

Self‐reported Resilience of European Farms With and Without the CAP

Firms are able to survive only if they adapt appropriately in response to disturbances. The ability of a farm to continue after a disturbance is defined as resilience. To analyse the resilience of EU farms we explore exit and the number of adaptation strategies that farmers follow under two scenarios. The current CAP will be continued in the base scenario, while it will be abolished in scenario 2. The outcomes show that under both scenarios large, more specialised farms with young farm heads are most resilient, and small more diversified farms headed by old farmers are least resilient.     

Sustainable natural resource use in rural China: Recent trends and policies

In this paper we provide an overview of recent trends in the availability and quality of land and water resources in rural China, and examine the common presumption that rural resources are rapidly degrading in China. Data based on consistent definitions and measurement methods that have recently become available are used to that end. In addition, we analyse the impact of new policy initiatives to introduce market-based instruments and new institutions to address land degradation and water scarcity problems.We find that the decline in cultivated area has accelerated in the beginning of the new century. Ecological recovery programs, not urbanization and industrialization, are the major factors causing this decline. Ecological recovery programs are also a major force behind the increase in forest land area and the reduction of water erosion. Modest successes can be observed in the protection of wetlands and (until the mid-1980s) for the average quality of cultivated land. On the other hand, degradation of natural grassland and wind erosion have become much more severe in recent decades.In northern China, particularly in the 3-H (Hai and Luan, Huai and Huang) river basins, the availability of water has tightened. Groundwater tables have fallen considerably in the Hai river basin, because farmers increasingly rely on groundwater for irrigation. Evidence on other parts of northern China is mixed. Pollution of surface water is getting worse since the beginning of the 1990s in two major lakes in southern China and until recently in the rivers in northern China. Water quality problems in the larger rivers in southern China are less severe and getting less. These problems are to a large extent caused by agriculture-based non-point source pollution, especially in the major lakes and reservoirs.The sloping land conversion program, water pricing, and the establishment of water user associations and payments for environmental service projects are used as cases to examine the introduction of market-based instruments and new institutions. We argue that less government interference in the implementation of these instruments and institutions is likely to enhance ecological as well the economic benefits. Moreover, supportive measures to improve the functioning of land and labor markets are usually needed to ensure the sustainability of the impact of interventions.     

SPAC merger announcement returns and subsequent performance

Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) are created to raise capital and then find non-listed operating companies with which to merge. While most of the extant research has focused on SPAC initial public offerings, we study what happens when SPACs announce business combinations. Our analysis of 236 ‘deSPACs’ completed between January 2012 and June 2021 in the United States documents an average short-term announcement return of +7.4% and a 1-year abnormal return of −14.1% (−18.0% over 2 years) for public investors beginning from the merger announcement. Short-term returns decrease with longer times from initial public offering until announcement.