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The emissions trading scheme (ETS) is considered an effective policy tool for achieving emission reductions. At present, China’s ETS pilots have completed several compliance periods and provided rich experience for a national ETS. Taking advantage of the variations in the regional ETS pilots across regions and sectors and over time, this study used a difference-in-difference-in-differences (DDD) model to examine the effects of ETS pilots and differential program design on industry risk and the impacts of risk on future investment horizon. First, we found that the ETS pilots significantly increase profit variability (total risk) in China’s industry; that is, ETS induces greater uncertainty in the covered sectors. In terms of industry heterogeneity, non-electricity sectors (specifically ferrous metal) engage in higher levels of risk taking. Second, the influence of such program features as the allowance allocation (total amounts and approaches), China Certification Emission Reduction (CCER) trading volumes, and penalties are heterogeneous. Finally, during the period around the treatment, industry risk can significantly encourage longer rather than shorter investment. In particular, the punishment mechanism and benchmarking allocation play a positive role in regulating the risk‒investment relationship.

Background A child’s long-term illness or disability is always a serious matter that impacts the whole family. Costs related to an illness can substantially affect a family’s financial situation. To date, there is little research on how parents experience available support for financial assistance. Surveys in Finland have found that families of children with long-term illnesses and disabilities could experience financial struggle and perceive the state provided financial support system as too complex. This article aimed to explore how caregivers of children with long-term illnesses perceived their financial situation, need for financial support and experienced its provision by the state in the Helsinki greater region. Methods Convenience sampling was used. Participants were contacted through peer-support groups on Facebook. Eleven mothers of children with varying long-term illnesses and disabilities residing in the Helsinki greater region were interviewed using in-depth interviews. Recordings of the interviews were transcribed and analysed using framework analysis. An analytical framework was built to label the dataset, which was then charted. Lastly, themes were formed through descriptive analysis. Results The main findings showed how the burden of caring for a child with a long-term illness or disability causes fatigue, which affects a family’s financial situation holistically. This affected both employment and financial management, but also receiving information about and applying for the state provided allowances. Mental resources were further depleted by seeking information and applying for allowances. This contributed to a vicious cycle between parental fatigue and financial struggle. Participants found the allocation of funds inequitable across the country. Finally, participants thought the allowance was insufficient in compensating for time spent caring for their child’s illness and did not consider their mental strain. Conclusions Even in a welfare state such as Finland, caregivers of children with long-term illnesses are at risk of poverty and struggle with the organization of state provided financial support. Policies should be designed to ensure equity across the country and consider how the parental fatigue should be addressed. The study has implications for achieving sustainable development goals on wellbeing and reducing poverty.

The Circular Letter of the Minister of Manpower No. M/6/HI.00.01/V/2020 concerning the Implementation of Religious Holiday Allowance Payment (THR) of 2020 in Companies during Covid-19 Pandemic is a regulation expected to complete THR payment problems in this Pandemic situation. However, normatively, this regulation raises new legal issues. This regulation's provisions contradict the principle of legal certainty because it contradicts the laws and regulations above it. Under the juridical normative type of research, the results of this research found the emergence of legal consequences due to industrial relations disputes for employment relations actors if the agreement on THR Payment is not achieved. This research has also found that the Minister Circular Letter on THR Payment basically contradicted the principle of legal certainty because the status does not belong to the statutory regulations, meaning that it has no force to be applied as statutory regulations do. Based on the Statutory regulation, the minister Circular Letter's legal status only applies to internal institutions which issue and belongs to technical and administrative arrangements. Thus, legal action as research result recommended to the government is revoking the minister's circular letter on THR Payment.

Since 2016, the number of recipients of incapacity allowance in Brazil has been continuously falling. This article presents the program of incapacity benefits assessment (PRBI) to help understand the dynamics around incapacity allowance and similar benefits. The study shows that the PRBI can save more than R$ 85 billion of the budget allocated to social security in the country. Resumen El número de beneficiarios de subsidios por incapacidad laboral ha disminuido drásticamente desde 2016. Este artículo muestra que el Programa para la Evaluación de Subsidios por Incapacidad Laboral (PRBI) es clave para entender esta dinámica y es responsable de una economía de más de R$ 85 mil millones para el Régimen General de Previsión Social de Brasil. Resumo O número de benefícios de auxílio-doença vem caindo drasticamente desde 2016. Este artigo mostra que o Programa de Revisão dos Benefícios por Incapacidade (PRBI) é fundamental para entender essa dinâmica, e estima que o Programa seja responsável por uma economia de mais de R$ 85 bilhões ao Regime Geral de Previdência Social.

Background Many tools have been developed to measure physical activity parenting practices (PAPP). Currently, there is little standardization on how PAPP constructs are operationalized for 5–12 year-old children. Given this lack of consistency our team have started the process of standardizing the measurement of PAPP by developing an item bank which was conceptually informed by 24 experts from 6 countries. Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the psychometric properties of the PAPP item bank using the expert-informed PAPP conceptual framework. Methods A sample (N = 626) of Canadian parents completed the PAPP item bank (100 items measuring 12 constructs). Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA), confirmatory bi-factor item analyses, and Item Response Modeling (IRM) were used to assess the structural validity of scores derived from the PAPP item bank. Differential Item Functioning (DIF) and Differential Response Functioning (DRF) were used to determine whether the PAPP items are invariant by parent sex, ethnicity of parent, and household income. Finally, Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT) simulations were used to determine the efficiency of the item bank – this involved ascertaining whether each construct can be assessed with fewer items. Results The PAPP expert-informed conceptual framework was mainly supported by the CFA analyses. Notable changes included: a) collapsing smaller constructs into one general construct (modeling, co-participation, and monitoring constructs were collapsed into a construct assessing nondirective support); or b) splitting a construct into two smaller constructs (restrict for safety reason construct was split into indoor physical activity restriction and allowance for unsupervised outside physical activity). While the CFA analyses supported the structural validity of 11 constructs, the bi-factor item analyses and IRM analyses supported collapsing correlated constructs into more general constructs. These analyses further reduced the number of constructs measured by the PAPP item bank to nine constructs (65 items – reliability ranging from .79 to .94). As seven of the PAPP constructs had reliability greater than .80, CAT simulations further reduced the number of items to 31 items. Conclusion Overall, the PAPP item bank has excellent psychometric properties and provides an efficient way to assess PAPP.

In the reporting period (1 February - 30 June 2020), there were five noteworthy cases in the field of social security. Two cases originated in French courts and concerned E 101 certificates. The Vueling case concerned the conditions for disregarding fraudulent E 101 certificates. Bouygues travaux publics dealt with the effects of E 101 certificates on obligations at the crossroads of social security and labour law. In Pensionsversicherungsanstalt v CW, the issue concerned whether a Member State of origin, Austria, must grant a rehabilitation allowance to a national no longer working or residing there. Caisse d’assurance retraite et de la santé au travail d’Alsace-Moselle v SJ related to the obligation for the competent institution to take into account an allowance paid by another Member State for raising a disabled child when calculating an insurance period for entitlement to an old-age pension. Finally, Caisse pour l’avenir des enfants v FV was a case about access to family benefits by a frontier worker for a child living in the same household but with whom there was no blood relationship.

This article is written on the basis of a survey conducted for the Agency for Strategic Initiatives by the Public Opinion Foundation and other surveys. The research is devoted, on the one hand, to the reproductive attitudes of men aged 18-55 years and women 18-45 years old. On the other hand, it explores how people relate to measures of demographic policy – both those already existing and those under consideration – and to their effectiveness. The research shows that the most desired family model in terms of the number of children has not changed over the past ten years. People still want (in ideal conditions) two children. However, people’s desires don’t fully coincide with their intentions. Only one fourth of respondents say that they plan to have another child. The rest are stopped by material difficulties – a lack of stable sources of income sufficient for the birth and upbringing of another child. For this (but not only this) reason, the most popular demographic measures today are material – the maternity capital, the repayment of mortgage obligations for large families, and a monthly childcare allowance until the child reaches 1.5 years of age. Demographers, however, doubt the effectiveness of such measures in terms of increasing birth rates, and the survey data confirm their doubts. Despite the fact that most respondents believe that demographic policies affect fertility, only a few took them into account when deciding whether or not to have a baby.

Purpose This study presents the results of a review whose goal is to generate knowledge on the possible levers of action concerning per diem practices in southern countries in order to propose reforms to the existing schemes. Methodology A synthesis of available knowledge was performed using scoping review methodology: a literature search was conducted using several databases (Medline, Cinahl, Embase, PubMed, Google Scholar, ProQuest) and grey literature. A total of 26 documents were included in the review. Furthermore, interviews were conducted with the authors of the selected articles to determine whether the proposed recommendations had been implemented and to identify any outcomes. Results For the most part, the results of this review are recommendations supporting per diem reform. In terms of strategy, the recommendations call for a redefinition of per diems by limiting their appeal. Issued recommendations include reducing daily allowance rates, paying per diem only in exchange for actual work, increasing control mechanisms or harmonizing rates across organizations. In terms of operations, the recommendations call for the implementation of concrete actions to reduce instances of abuse, including not paying advances or introducing reasonable flat-rate per diem. That said, the authors contacted stated that few per diem reforms had been implemented as a result of the issued recommendations. Conclusion The results of the study clearly identify possible levers of action. Such levers could make up the groundwork for further reflection on context and country-specific reforms that are carried out using a dynamic, participatory and consensual approach.

This study aims to evaluate the implementation of the policy of providing performance allowance to employees at the Secretariat of the General Elections Commission (GEC) Kota Ternate, as well as their supporting and obstacle factors. This research is a descriptive qualitative research by using case study. The research data were obtained from informants who were respondents, ranging from staff to officials at the Secretariat of the General Elections Commission Kota Ternate. The results of the study showed that although the implementation of the performance allowance was already running there were still some deviations in its management, namely: 1) no socialization or training was held on the management of performance allowance involving GEC Kota Ternate; 2) there is no appointment of a performance allowance management officer, namely the Performance Allowance Management Officer or the control book Management Officer, therefore, it happens overlap working with routine treasurer; 3) there is not a standard operating procedure (SOP) as an assessment standard that aims to provide an assessment and sanctions against employees who do not carry out their duties and functions.

Summary Background Universal Credit, a welfare benefit reform in the UK, began to replace six existing benefit schemes in April, 2013, starting with the income-based Job Seekers Allowance. We aimed to determine the effects on mental health of the introduction of Universal Credit. Methods In this longitudinal controlled study, we linked 197 111 observations from 52 187 individuals of working age (16–64 years) in England, Wales, and Scotland who participated in the Understanding Society UK Longitudinal Household Panel Study between 2009 and 2018 with administrative data on the month when Universal Credit was introduced into the area in which each respondent lived. We included participants who had data on employment status, local authority area of residence, psychological distress, and confounding variables. We excluded individuals from Northern Ireland and people out of work with a disability. We used difference-in-differences analysis of this nationally representative, longitudinal, household survey and separated respondents into two groups: unemployed people who were eligible for Universal Credit (intervention group) and people who were not unemployed and therefore would not have generally been eligible for Universal Credit (comparison group). Using the phased roll-out of Universal Credit, we compared the change in psychological distress (self-reported via General Health Questionnaire-12) between the intervention group and the comparison group over time as the reform was introduced in the area in which each respondent lived. We defined clinically significant psychological distress as a score of greater than 3 on the General Health Questionnaire-12. We tested whether there were differential effects across subgroups (age, sex, and education). Findings The prevalence of psychological distress increased in the intervention group by 6·57 percentage points (95% CI 1·69–11·42) after the introduction of Universal Credit relative to the comparison group, after accounting for potential confounders. We estimate that between April 29, 2013, and Dec 31, 2018, an additional 63 674 (95% CI 10 042–117 307) unemployed people will have experienced levels of psychological distress that are clinically significant due to the introduction of Universal Credit; 21 760 of these individuals might reach the diagnostic threshold for depression. Interpretation Our findings suggest that the introduction of Universal Credit led to an increase in psychological distress, a measure of mental health difficulties, among those affected by the policy. Future changes to government welfare systems should be evaluated not only on a fiscal basis but on their potential to affect health and wellbeing. Funding Wellcome Trust, UK National Institute for Health Research, and Medical Research Council.

Ethereum is a kind of blockchain platform where developers may develop and run programs called smart contracts. It inherently relies on gas consumption within a specified allowance to constrain code execution, making every instruction along an execution path to be a location for raising an exception. In this paper, we present GasFuzzer, the first work in exploring the effects of gas allowance manipulation to expose gas-oriented exception security vulnerabilities. GasFuzzer consists of two phases. The first phase introduces a gas-greedy strategy to favor transactions having higher gas consumption for mutation to obtain test transactions with different gas consumptions. The second phase introduces a novel notion of fractional gas consumption coverage and a novel gas-leveling strategy. It applies them to mutate the gas allowances of some of these transactions resulting in the highest gas consumptions produced in the first phase followed by applying these allowance-mutated transactions together with those which remained non-mutated to fuzz test the smart contract. We report an evaluation of GasFuzzer via an experiment on 3170 real-world smart contracts deployed on the public Ethereum Blockchain between October 2017 and July 2019. The findings show that GasFuzzer with gas-greedy strategy can detect more Exceptions Disorder kind of security vulnerabilities (7 more cases) than the previous state-of-the-art black-box fuzzer, and GasFuzzer with gas-leveling strategy and gas coverage criterion can detect 6 additional cases of Exceptions Disorder security vulnerabilities, which is significant.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between socio-demographic factors, gambling behaviour, and the level of gambling expenditure. The data were drawn from the population-based Gambling Harms Survey 2016 and 2017 conducted in Finland. The data were linked to register-based variables. Past-year gamblers were included (Wave 1; n=5 805, both Waves; n=2 165). The study showed that of the 4.2% of gamblers that produced 50.0% of the total GE in 2016, 33.1% of the GE was produced by those with a gambling problem and 43.3% by those with at-risk gambling pattern. Compared to gamblers in the lowest GE group, those in the highest GE group were more likely to be men, aged 25 or older, with upper secondary education, have a high income, be on dis- ability pension or sickness allowance, be frequent gamblers, gambling at least six game types, and showing at-risk and problem gambling patterns. Cumulative weekly GE by income tertiles remained fairly stable between the years. The results suggest that GE is highly concentrated. Among the small group of high-intensity consumers, the majority of the revenue comes from at-risk and problem gambling. Participants in the low GE group differ from those in the intermediate and high GE groups in terms of socio-demographics and gambling behaviour. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between socio-demographic factors, gambling behaviour, and the level of gambling expenditure. The data were drawn from the population-based Gambling Harms Survey 2016 and 2017 conducted in Finland. The data were linked to register-based variables. Past-year gamblers were included (Wave 1; n=5 805, both Waves; n=2 165). The study showed that of the 4.2% of gamblers that produced 50.0% of the total GE in 2016, 33.1% of the GE was produced by those with a gambling problem and 43.3% by those with at-risk gambling pattern. Compared to gamblers in the lowest GE group, those in the highest GE group were more likely to be men, aged 25 or older, with upper secondary education, have a high income, be on dis- ability pension or sickness allowance, be frequent gamblers, gambling at least six game types, and showing at-risk and problem gambling patterns. Cumulative weekly GE by income tertiles remained fairly stable between the years. The results suggest that GE is highly concentrated. Among the small group of high-intensity consumers, the majority of the revenue comes from at-risk and problem gambling. Participants in the low GE group differ from those in the intermediate and high GE groups in terms of socio-demographics and gambling behaviour.

This paper studies retirement and child support policies in a small, open, overlapping-generations economy with PAYG social security and endogenous retirement and fertility decisions. It demonstrates that neither fertility nor retirement choices necessarily coincide with socially optimal allocation, because agents do not take into account the externalities of fertility and the elderly labor supply in the economy as a whole. It shows that governments can realize the first-best allocation by introducing a child allowance scheme and a subsidy to incentivize the labor supply of older workers. As an alternative to subsidizing the elderly labor supply, we show that the first-best allocation can also be achieved by controlling the retirement age. Finally, the model is simulated in order to study whether the policies devoted to realizing the social optimum in a market economy could be a Pareto improvement.

Background The implementation of national antiretroviral therapy (ART) and expanded ART policies results in that more and more HIV-infected patients receive ART in Kunming, Yunnan province, China. At the same time, however, the number of patients, who drop-out from ART, are also increasing. In this study, we explored the factors that may account for drop-out. Methods Four hundred and thirty-nine HIV-infected patients, who received or used to receive ART, were recruited in this study. Their age is among 18 and 75. All patients were divided into two group: ART group (187 patients) and drop-out group (252 patients). Appropriate bio-statistics analysis, including univariate analysis and Multivariate analysis, were used to identify factors associated with drop-out. Results Data from all patients were analyzed. Univariate analysis suggested that the factors associated with drop-out may include age, residential area, educational level, occupation, monthly income, the access to minimum living allowance, HIV transmission route, and living status. On the other hand, factors including area, monthly income, the access to minimum living allowance, and referral methods of follow-up institutions account for drop-out in multivariate analysis. Conclusions This study identified a number of factors associated with drop out from ART. Based on our findings,appropriate interventions should be introduced decrease drop-out.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic required not only the reorientation of learning to remote form but also a change in the form of state-funded school lunches. One of the forms of school catering allowance was food packs, which obligated parents to prepare a warm lunch for the pupil from products included in food packs. As the responsibility for providing a warm lunch for the pupil was transferred to the parents, it was important to understand the parents’ experience. The survey was used to gather parents’ experiences of school catering allowance received during the pandemic using survey administration software—Google forms; 5166 respondents from different regions of Latvia took part in the survey. The school catering allowance in the form of food packs (83.7%) can be considered successful as over 70% of respondents rated it as positive, giving a rating of 7 (good) or above. Parents from Vidzeme and Latgale had the most positive experience with food packs. The parents appreciated the support they received, stating that it provided a certain sense of security during the crisis. Parental dissatisfaction was related to the composition of food packs, lack of local products and unacceptable products, such as canned meat and fish.

This study is an exploration of the digital divide between urban and rural areas, and it was conducted to assess the impact of the minimum living guarantee system on online education in China. The results of the research showed that 83.38% of students in low-income families have been able to participate in online education at home during the pandemic, while 16.62% of students in low-income families have been unable to do so. The absence of computers, smartphones, and broadband Internet access in low-income households reduces the likelihood of children being able to participate in online education at home. In terms of accessing online education at home, students from urban areas have obvious advantages over those from rural ones, and students from minimum living guarantee families have obvious advantages over those from marginal minimum living guarantee ones. This study also showed that the presence of online education-related amenities, including computers, smartphones, and Internet access, mediates the relationship between the subsistence allowance system, Hukou, and accessibility of online education. To address this issue, this paper includes suggestions for bridging the digital divide in online education.

This study aims to investigate students’ difficulties in using the bus to get to school based on Rasch analysis and examines students’ innate abilities in handling the barriers. A total of 536 high school students in Yogyakarta were randomly surveyed. This study considers forty barriers of bus use grouped into eight aspects: safety, bus stop reliability, accessibility, mobility, payment system, bus reliability, transfer efficiency, and information and communication technology. The results show that the students experienced 18 main barriers in using the bus. The limited time of travel, circuitous routes, and distance to the bus stops were the three most significant barriers for students in using the bus during the morning commute. Conversely, students reported no difficulty using the bus regarding safety and payment system aspects. This result additionally shows that gender, age, allowance, and drivers’ licenses also influence the extent of the barrier experienced by the students. Finally, some strategies to increase the students’ ability to overcome barriers in utilizing the bus are proposed to create a sustainable public transport system in Yogyakarta.

ObjectiveTo quantify occupational risks of COVID-19 among healthcare staff during the first wave (9 March 2020–31 July 2020) of the pandemic in England.MethodsWe used pseudonymised data on 902 813 individuals employed by 191 National Health Service trusts to explore demographic and occupational risk factors for sickness absence ascribed to COVID-19 (n=92 880). We estimated ORs by multivariable logistic regression.ResultsWith adjustment for employing trust, demographic characteristics and previous frequency of sickness absence, risk relative to administrative/clerical occupations was highest in ‘additional clinical services’ (care assistants and other occupations directly supporting those in clinical roles) (OR 2.31 (2.25 to 2.37)), registered nursing and midwifery professionals (OR 2.28 (2.23 to 2.34)) and allied health professionals (OR 1.94 (1.88 to 2.01)) and intermediate in doctors and dentists (OR 1.55 (1.50 to 1.61)). Differences in risk were higher after the employing trust had started to care for documented patients with COVID-19, and were reduced, but not eliminated, following additional adjustment for exposure to infected patients or materials, assessed by a job-exposure matrix. For prolonged COVID-19 sickness absence (episodes lasting >14 days), the variation in risk by staff group was somewhat greater.ConclusionsAfter allowance for possible bias and confounding by non-occupational exposures, we estimated that relative risks for COVID-19 among most patient-facing occupations were between 1.5 and 2.5. The highest risks were in those working in additional clinical services, nursing and midwifery and in allied health professions. Better protective measures for these staff groups should be a priority. COVID-19 may meet criteria for compensation as an occupational disease in some healthcare occupations.Trial registration numberISRCTN36352994.

The paper aims to present directions for the growth‑enhancing reconstruction of the tax system in Poland. It presents a diagnosis of the main strengths and weaknesses of that system. Based on this diagnosis and a review of the literature, the authors propose a package of recommendations whose introduction would be conducive to economic growth. The recommendations include: shifting the burden of taxation from income, in particular low labour income, to consumption; exempting low earners from a part of social security contributions; the introduction of the possibility for local governments to increase the PIT-free allowance above the centrally set base amount; the unification of the basis for the PIT, National Health Fund and Social Insurance Institution contributions; the elimination of differences in contributions for different types of contracts on the basis of which work is performed; the extension of one‑off amortisation to all machine investments; and the elimination of sectoral taxes. Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie kierunków przebudowy systemu podatkowego w Polsce, która wzmacniałaby wzrost gospodarczy. Opracowanie zawiera diagnozę głównych silnych stron i słabości tego systemu. Na podstawie tej diagnozy oraz przeglądu literatury autorzy proponują rekomendacje, których uwzględnienie przy przebudowie podatków sprzyjałoby wzrostowi gospodarczemu. Obejmują one: przesunięcie ciężaru opodatkowania z dochodów, zwłaszcza z nisko płatnej pracy, na konsumpcję; objęcie części składek na ubezpieczenie społeczne kwotą wolną; umożliwienie samorządom podwyższenia kwoty wolnej od podatku PIT powyżej centralnie ustalonej kwoty bazowej; ujednolicenie podstawy wymiaru podatku PIT, składek NFZ i ZUS; usunięcie różnic w oskładkowaniu różnych typów umów, na podstawie których jest wykonywana praca; rozszerzenie możliwości jednorazowej amortyzacji na wszystkie inwestycje maszynowe; eliminację podatków sektorowych.

This research analyzed the relationships among performance allowance, employee motivation, work achievement and organizational performance in the Ministry of Religion's Office Lumajang City. This research used a quantitative research design based on. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) model. Research results showed insignificant direct between performance allowance and motivation, employees’ work achievement, and organizational performance. Work achievement has a direct and strongest significant influence on performance improvement in public organizations. Nonetheless, the influence of work achievement on organizational performance is mediated by a number of supporting factors, including performance allowance and motivation.

The economics of grazing dairy cows offered a range of herbage allowances and fed supplements as a partial mixed ration (PMR) were examined where profit was defined as the margin between total milk income and the cost of pasture plus PMR supplement. The analysis made use of milk production and feed intake data from two dairy cow nutrition experiments, one in early lactation and the other in late lactation. In early lactation and at a PMR intake of 6 kg DM/cow per day, the profit from the cows with access to a medium herbage allowance (25 kg DM/cow per day) was AUD 1.40/cow per day higher than that for cows on a low allowance (15 kg DM/cow per day). At a higher PMR intake of 14 kg DM/cow per day, the profit from the cows on a medium herbage allowance was AUD 0.45/cow per day higher than the cows on a low allowance, there was no additional profit from increasing the herbage allowance from medium to high (40 kg DM/cow per day). In late lactation, the profit from the cows fed a PMR with a medium herbage allowance (20 kg DM/cow per day) was only higher than the cows on a low allowance (12 kg DM/cow per day) when the PMR intake was between 6 and 12 kg DM/cow per day. There was also a difference of AUD +0.50/cow per day between the PMR with medium and high herbage allowance (32 kg DM/cow per day). It was concluded that farmers who feed a PMR to dairy cows should offer at least a medium herbage allowance to optimize profit. While feeding additional PMR increases milk production and profit, further gains would be available by offering a higher herbage allowance. These findings provide an estimate of the net benefits of different herbage allowances when feeding a PMR and will enable farmers to manage their feeding systems more profitably.

Since 2013, power plants in the EU have been obliged to buy carbon permits instead of receiving them for free. However, in order to ease their energy transition, some Member States that meet certain conditions (mainly a high share of fossil fuels and low income) are allowed to continue to receive free allowances for existing power plants (Article 10c of the EU ETS Directive). In exchange, they must invest in modernizing their electricity sector and diversifying their energy supply. However, up to 70% of the conditional investments have been made in upgrading coal-fired units, which casts doubt on the effectiveness of the measure to increase energy diversification. This paper evaluates the effect that the so-called rule 10c has had on energy diversification. A synthetic control method is applied to aggregate data from Poland, one of the countries eligible for free allowances, to investigate how the lignite and wind share in electricity generation would have evolved had Poland not used the rule 10c derogation. Our results indicate that Poland's energy diversification would have been the same if allowances had been auctioned instead of allocated for free. Therefore, the policy is only relevant in political terms and involves unjustified revenue loss for affected governments in favour of installations, i.e. subsidies. Our results suggest that rule 10c, as defined, does not incentivize investment in low carbon alternatives. The use of this transitional free allocation will continue to be available in phase IV (2021-2030) of the EU Emission Trading System (EU ETS). Key policy insights ¿ Application of the rule 10c derogation under the EU ETS, granting emission allowances for free to fossil fuel-reliant member states, has not achieved the intended goal of energy mix diversification in Poland. ¿Using a synthetic control method, we show that the lignite and wind share of electricity production in Poland would have followed almost the same trajectory if full auctioning, instead of free allocation, had been applied. ¿Because most conditional investments were used to retrofit coal-fired plants, the policy's main contribution was to subsidize continued use of coal power. ¿ The policy also deprived affected governments of auction revenues.

This study aims to examine employee commitment to improving work performance with remuneration as a mediator variable. The research objects discussed are; 1) Employee commitment, 2) Work performance and 3) Remuneration. The target of the study was 164 Civil Servants at the University of Jambi. The results showed that employee commitment has a greater influence on work performance if mediated by remuneration rather than the direct influence of employee commitment on work performance. This can be interpreted that remuneration which is a performance allowance to employees has a large role as a mediator on employee commitment which shows employee involvement to reach the goal so that it can improve work output which is the achievement of work performance.

In healthcare system as in hospitals, nurses play integral role to provide all healthcare services in a hospital at its optimum. The nurses’ twenty-four hours availability of services in hospitals has made them the most common healthcare persons. Nurses’ work performance is nurses’ activity in implementing command, tasks, and responsibilities at its best in order to achieve and manifest their professional goals and the organizational unit goals. The purpose of the study is to identify the effects of healthcare allowance compensation received by the nurses and the nurses’ job satisfaction on their own work performance through organizational commitment as the mediating variable. The study applies questionnaire as the instrument to collect data and process the data by applying Structural Equation Model (SEM) to conduct empirical test on model of the study, which is respondents who work as nurses in type-A hospitals in Jakarta area. The results of the study indicate that the healthcare allowance compensation affects the organizational commitment; the job satisfaction affects the organizational commitment; the healthcare allowance compensation does not affect the nurses’ work performance; the job satisfaction affects the nurses’ work performance; the organizational commitment affects the nurses’ work performance; and the organizational commitment mediates the correlation of the healthcare allowance compensation and job satisfaction on the nurses’ work performance.

Objective The aim of our study was to assess the knowledge and attitude and to find out the statistics regarding public awareness of organ donation in Karachi. This convenient based, cross-sectional study was conducted from the general population of Karachi, Pakistan from December 2015 to December 2016. The respondents were evaluated through a face to face questionnaire. The questionnaire contained variables regarding knowledge and attitude towards organ donation. Result 420 people were approached; amongst them 25 refused to participate, so a total number of 395 respondents consented in the research. The mean age of about 77.5% of the population was in the 18–27 range. More than half of the respondents happened to be students and female (51.1%) (55%) respectively. Our results indicate that there was inadequate knowledge among the general population (25.8%). There was a positive attitude regarding organ donation (75.2%). Television was a popular source of information (27%). 29.90% respondents knew that “Kidney” can be donated. 43.80% of the respondents were oblivious to the allowance of organ donation in their religion. More than half (57.2%) were in favor of the promotion of organ donation. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13104-019-4345-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Grazing management has an important impact on dairy ruminants’ performance. References on the intake and milk yield of dairy goats under strip-grazing systems in temperate regions are scarce. In order to study the effect of pasture allowance on pasture intake (PI), milk yield and grazing behaviour, a trial was carried out in spring with 36 Alpine goats in mid-lactation. Three daily pasture allowances (PA=1.7, 2.6 and 3.5 kg dry matter (DM)/day, namely Low, Medium and High, respectively) were compared in a 3 × 3 Latin square design replicated six times during three successive 14-day periods. Goats individually received 268 g DM of concentrate twice daily at each milking and had access 11 h/day to pasture (from 0830 to 1600 h and from 1730 to 2100 h). Pasture intake increased with PA, and more so between Low and Medium than between Medium and High (+216 v. +101 g DM/kg DM of PA). Milk yield was lower on Low than on Medium and High (2.79 v. 3.13 kg/day), as were milk fat and protein yields. Grazing time averaged 476 min/day and was lowest on Low and greatest on Medium. Pasture intake rate was 30 g DM/h lower on Low and Medium than on High. It is concluded that under temperate conditions, when goats are supplemented with 536 g DM of concentrate and have enough access time to pasture (11 h/day), a medium pasture allowance close to 2.6 kg DM/day may be sufficient to maximise milk yield.

Dairy farms with intensive grazing systems combine grazing with supplemental feeding, which can be challenging because an incorrect balance between fresh grass allowance and feed supplementation results in inefficient use of the pasture, lower feed efficiency, and potential decreases in animal production. When estimating fresh grass allowance, we currently do not correct for the formation of rejected patches (RP) surrounding excreta, which can lead to overestimation of the potential fresh grass intake and hampers optimal grazing. In this study, therefore, we aim to quantify the formation of RP in intensive grazing systems and improve the quantification of fresh grass allowance. To do so, we studied 2 grazing systems (i.e., compartmented continuous grazing and strip grazing) that differ in key grazing characteristics, such as pre- and post-grazing heights and period of regrowth. The experiment was performed from April to October in 2016 and 2017 with 60 dairy cows at a fixed stocking rate of 7.5 cows/ha. Average pre-grazing grass height was measured with a rising plate meter. To quantify the formation of RP after grazing, individual grass height measurements were conducted after grazing and classified as RP or not, based on visual assessment. Our analysis showed that the average percentage of grassland covered with RP increased from around 22% at the end of May to around 43% at the end of July/beginning of August, and these percentages do not differ across grazing systems. The percentage of grassland covered with RP should be subtracted from the total grazed area to better estimate true fresh grass allowance.

Droughts in southern South America affect grazing systems in many ways. They reduce biomass productivity; decrease livestock feed intake, weight and reproductive performance; increase farmers' costs; and reduce farm income. It was hypothesized that simple grazing management variables affect the resilience of grazing systems to droughts at the paddock and farm scales. The effects of grazing management on herbage and animal production were assessed at paddock level, and how technological and structural variables relate to the production and economic performances at farm level. Results of a grazing experiment controlling herbage allowance at paddock level showed that resistance of herbage accumulation and animal live weight to drought was significantly higher for paddocks with higher pre-drought herbage allowance than for those managed to low herbage allowance treatments. A strong positive linear relationship was found between pre-drought herbage height and resistance of herbage accumulation rate (p < .01). In a longitudinal study of nine farms in Uruguay, resistance of cow pregnancy rate to drought was positively correlated with cow pregnancy rate (r = .72, p = .02) and farm net income (r = .78, p = .02), and negatively correlated with sheep-to-cattle ratio (r = −.80, p = .01). These correlations suggest that farms with higher incomes and low proportions of sheep in the herd withstand drought better (in terms of pregnancy rate). Four common regional production strategies were identified that react differently when farmers face drought, and these results can aid farmers in those regions to design more resilient mixed livestock farming systems and can inform policymakers about effective strategies for mitigating drought impacts in the region.

A good set of the financial system could take care of all accounting entries and their impacts on the whole intelligent financial environment. The total flow of money and total expenditures will be reflected here. The intelligent financial system can improve the utilization of data, increase the work efficiency of financial personnel, and increase the security of financial processing services. This system could help the managers make their important financial decisions, financial budgeting, and so on. They can know about the financial conditions at any time. Based on the collection and processing of financial data, we design and analyze the related financial system to carry out the intelligent property of the financial environments. The system extends the quality of financial reporting, SOX compliance, and internal controls in a financial system, including credit management, revenue recognition, bad debts allowance. Once there is an early warning in the financial system, our proposed enhanced system could give a fast early response, and bridge a positive linkage about the planning department, finance department, and top managers, which could avoid potential exposure to bad debts. This system guarantees that the credible customers are selected, and avoid the potential risk of bad debts are incurred by a loose credit limit. It strengthens the preventive control over aging receivables management and detects the potential risk of bad debts in the earlier system alert.

The purpose of this study is to classify college freshmen based on the level of psychological states related to psychological well-being they experience, and to explore the factors influencing these psychological states. Group 1 had low levels of negative psychological states and high levels of positive psychological states (constituting 35% of the total sample), Group 2 had relatively high level of negative psychological states and very low level of life satisfaction (constituting 13% of the total sample), and Group 3 had moderate level of psychological states (constituting 52% of the total sample). First, it was identified that a group with high level of negative psychological states does not necessarily have a low level of positive psychological states in factors such as their self-esteem, resilience, or life goals. Second, female students were more likely to belong to the group with high manifestations of psychological problems. Students who get higher self-satisfaction from their income than their actual annual income, students with more allowance, students with lower burden relating to their tuition, and students who worked less part-time jobs (falls under the financial factor) were less likely to belong to the group with high manifestations of psychological problems. Students who had numerous communications with their peers and had a sense of trust in their school, and students who felt less alienated were also less likely to belong to the group with high manifestations of psychological problems (falls under the social relationship factor). In addition, students who selected their college major in accordance to their aptitudes and interests, or through the influence of their school teachers, were less likely to belong to the mild risk group or the risk group than the students who decided their college major based on employment prospects or recommendations (falls under the enrollment motivation factor). Meanwhile, students with a higher dependency to their mobile phones had higher probability of belonging to the risk group, and students who had higher computer use frequency, such as using a computer to chat or play games, had a lower probability of belonging to the mild risk group or the risk group (falls under the media utilization factor). The results of the study indicate the need for the following: (1) a three-dimensional diagnosis of the psychological state of college freshmen, (2) measures that can improve social relationships, such as support in the curriculum and linkage to counseling institutions, and (3) the selection of a major in accordance to one’s aptitude, calling for the need for a linkage with career guidance at the high school stage.

The association between family environment and child’s eating behaviors is well established but a multidimensional approach to study this relation is lacking. This study aimed to assess the proprieties of a questionnaire created to evaluate parental practices, preferences, skills and attitudes regarding fruit and vegetables (F&V), sugar and salt. Participants (n = 714) were families of pre-school children (aged 2–6 years old) of the Nutriscience Project–a web-based gamification program–who answered a questionnaire assessing socio-demographic characteristics, nutrition knowledge, and a scale evaluating parental practices, preferences, skills and attitudes, at the baseline of the project. Exploratory factorial analysis was applied to the scale: 21 items and 5 factors were extracted (52.4% of explained variance) with a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) value of 0.770: 1. Modelling/active promotion of F&V consumption (α = 0.73), 2. Skills for choosing/preparing healthy food (α = 0.75), 3. Food preferences and satiety perception (α = 0.70), 4. Awareness regarding sugar/salt intake (α = 0.61), 5. Allowance regarding F&V consumption (α = 0.55). Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were conducted to compare factors according to socio-demographic characteristics. Higher scores for parental modelling and active promotion of F&V consumption were observed in older parents, those with higher nutrition knowledge and who reported to live without income difficulties. Regarding food preferences, higher scores were observed in mothers, with higher nutrition knowledge and from higher educated groups. Higher awareness regarding salt and sugar consumption were observed in older parents, with higher education, higher nutrition knowledge and with female children. Older parents and with female children also registered higher scores of skills for choosing/preparing healthy food. The scale showed satisfactory proprieties and may contribute to assess family food environment using a multidimensional approach. It also highlighted the importance of considering socio-demographic characteristics in interventions to promote healthy eating.

From January 1, 2018, most of the commercial banks in Kosovo adopted IFRS 9. The new standard introduces the expected credit loss model to allow for timely recognition of credit losses, estimated not only on the actual credit loss but also on forward-looking information regarding the current loan portfolio. Although, transition phases may lead to increasing impairments and a decrease in banks’ equity, which directly influences the financial stability of banks. This paper examines the day-one transition effect of IFRS 9 on the level of assets balance, allowance for loan losses, and capital regulatory class II of banks in Kosovo. To test our hypothesis, we have performed a comparative analysis for the six biggest commercial banks in Kosovo to identify correlation and causality between studied variables. As a statistical technique, we have employed a “paired sample t-test” where we compare financial indicators before and after adopting IFRS 9 to examine the impact on financial stability for commercial banks in Kosovo. Our results are in line with the results of recent studies in the IFRS 9 field and conclude that the transition phase has a significant influence on the recognition of additional loan impairment but assets and capital regulations are not affected significantly. Results demonstrate the transition to IFRS 9 causes instability and re-consolidation of capital, but in the long-run reduce the possibility for large and sudden losses. Commercial banks in Kosovo should follow a balanced growth approach without compromising the quality of the loan portfolio.

Objectives: To investigate changes over time and identify predictors of online gambling among gamblers by using three Norwegian representative samples covering a 6-year (2013–2019) period. We also aimed to identify different characteristics (including video game participation and video gaming problems) of online compared to offline gamblers.Methods: Data from gamblers (N = 15,096) participating in three cross-sectional surveys (2013, 2015, and 2019) based on random sampling from the Norwegian Population Registry were analyzed. Participants were asked how frequently they engaged in online gambling on different platforms (e.g., mobile phone). Data on sociodemographics, games gambled, gambling problems, gaming, and problem gaming were collected and analyzed by logistic regression analyses.Results: Overall, an increase in online gambling from 2013 to 2015 was found (a larger percentage of gamblers reported having gambled online at least once during the last year), and an increase in online gambling from 2015 to 2019 was found (more gamblers reported having gambled online at least once last year and at least once per week). The increase was largest for gambling on mobile phone. Consistent predictors of online gambling (at least once last year and at least once per week) were male gender, high income, being unemployed, being on disability pension, having work assessment allowance, being a homemaker or retiree, number of games gambled, and gambling problems.Conclusions: Online gambling, especially on mobile phones, has increased significantly during the last 6 years in Norway. Hence, gambling availability seems to have grown, which may pose a risk for development of gambling problems. Compared to offline gamblers, online gamblers were more likely to be men, young, not working or studying, gambling on several games, and having gambling problems. Responsible gambling efforts aiming at preventing or minimizing harm related to online gambling should thus target these groups.

Background:Setting up a home-delivered meal service often allows older people suffering from physical and/or cognitive disabilities to stay at home. However, older people who delegate their food activities (food purchasing, cooking…) have been reported to have a worse nutritional status than people who take care of their food activities. In this context, we will conduct a systematic review of all studies related to the nutritional issue in home-delivered meal older recipients.Methods:In June 2020, we searched 3 databases (Pubmed, Web of Science, EMBASE) to identify studies from all years on older adults at home and receiving home-delivered meal services (population). The followingoutcomeswere considered: nutritional status (Body Mass Index, weight, undernutrition) and nutritional intake. Any nutritionalintervention, comparator, andstudy designwere relevant for inclusion.Results:Forty-eight original studies met the inclusion criteria, most of them being published after the year 2000 (n= 34) and undertaken in the USA (n= 32). The selection includes 30 cross-sectional and 18 longitudinal studies. The main findings of this review are the following: (1) home-delivery meal older recipients are at high risk of undernutrition; (2) providing home-delivery meals may improve the nutritional status and nutrient intake; (3) this improvement is even higher when the home-delivery meal service is improved, for instance by providing dietetic counseling or adding supplementary snacks/meals or enriched food. However, even an improved service does not allow all the older recipients meeting their recommended nutritional allowance.Conclusion:This review reveals a need to further develop strategies allowing home-delivery meal older recipients to fulfill their nutritional needs. From a methodological point of view, there is a need to describe in more detail the home-delivered services provided to studies' participants to better consider meal frequency and meal content in the results.

Food function is nowadays not merely limited to nourishment supplying, consumers&rsquo, interest is oriented to food healthiness and nutritional value, animal welfare, environmental impact of animal productions, and products&rsquo, traceability. The objective of the present work is to compare physical parameters and fatty acids profiles of market eggs produced from hens housed in four different systems. In addition, the effects of the presence of an outdoor space allowance (IND = no outdoor space allowance, OUT = outdoor space allowance) on the same parameters have been investigated. Sixty-nine market eggs from four different production systems labelled as Alternative (ALT), Enriched Cage (ECA), Litter Floor (LIF), and Organic (ORG) have been analysed. Physical parameters and fatty acid concentrations were measured. An ANOVA analysis was performed with production system and outdoor space allowance as sources of variation, two Principal Component Analyses (PCA) were carried out with physical parameters and fatty acid parameters as variables. The effects of the complex interactions occurring among production system, hen welfare, and eggs quality have been analysed in marketed eggs leading to the conclusion that eggs from different production systems available on the market are characterized by differences in fatty acid profile and physical parameters. In physical parameters the differences among systems were influenced by the whole egg weight, albumen weight and yolk weight. In fatty acids parameters the determining variables are the content in polyunsatured fatty acids (PUFA), linoleic acid concentration, and n6/n3 ratio.

This paper analyses the role that companion policies have had in the reduction of emissions regulated by the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and the related policy interactions, with a view to identifying relevant insights for China's forthcoming Emissions Trading System (ETS). The investigation rests on: (a) the observation of the EU's and China's ETSs and policy mixes; (b) economic theory concerning companion policies and ETS design; and (c) empirical ex-post evidence from the EU ETS. Three main conclusions emerge from the analysis. First, China's ETS, while not imposing a fixed cap on emissions, will not be immune to waterbed effects of companion policies. Second, the European experience stresses the importance of making explicit the objectives pursued by companion policies, and of balancing policies for innovation and policies for adoption of low-carbon technologies. Third, in the presence of a major market surplus, only permanent adjustments to allowance supply can be effective in raising prices. The work leading to this study was co-financed by the EU LIFE Programme of the European Commission – Grant Agreement LIFE15 GIC/IT/000051 LIFE SIDE.

Socioeconomic differences in sickness absence are well known, but previous studies have tended to focus on wage earners only. This study examined incidence and length of sickness absence comparing the employee groups of upper and lower non-manual employees and manual workers, but also entrepreneurs, the unemployed and other non-wage-earners. The study utilized register data on a nationally representative 70% sample of Finns aged 25&ndash, 62 at the end of year 2012 (N = 1,615,352). Sickness absence spells compensated by sickness allowance and initiated during 2013 were retrieved from the register of the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (SIIF) and followed until the end of each episode and linked to socio-demographic covariates collected from the registers of the SIIF and of Statistics Finland. Zero-inflated negative binomial regression was used in multivariate models. After adjusting for age, marital status, region and income, there were clear differences in the occurrence and length of sickness absence across socioeconomic groups. Compared to upper non-manual employees, lower non-manual employees and especially manual workers had higher cumulative annual incidence of sickness absence among both men and women, but the entrepreneurs, the unemployed and other non-wage-earners had a clearly higher expected number of sickness absence days. Results varied by diagnostic group. The results highlight the importance of different types of preventive measures for reducing the occurrence of sickness absence and for preventing prolongations of sickness absence spells in different socioeconomic groups.

I study the effect of an education leave subsidy for the employed on labor-market outcomes and educational attainment using Finnish administrative linked employer-employee panel data and matching methods. The adult education allowance is available to employees with at least eight years of work experience and allows them to take a leave for 2–18 months to participate in an education program while being compensated for a substantial part of their forgone earnings. I find large positive treatment effects on educational attainment and changing occupation. The treatment effects on earnings and employment are negative during the lock-in period and close to zero afterward. Treatment effects on pseudo-outcomes are small and with one exception not statistically significant, which supports the credibility of the identification strategy. Sensitivity analyses show that unobserved variables should have a fairly large effect on treatment assignment to change the results.

The purpose of the paper is to study how the interests of farmland transfer be distributed among the government, contractors, and farmland transferees. The process of the paper is to analyze the evolutionary stability strategies of the government, contractors, and farmland transferees by building a three-party evolutionary game model; in order to identify the equilibrium point of the three-party evolutionary game, an example of interest distribution in a village in Anhui Province is used to analyze and simulate the three-party evolutionary game. The conclusions of the paper are as follows: the combination of a one-party subsidy, transferring farmland, and grain production is the ideal equilibrium result in the three-party game; farmland transfer rent is the a crucial factor of interest balance among the three parties; only if the farmland transfer rental price is larger than the sum of the contractor’s self-farming incomes and subsidies and lower than the grain income of the transferee can the three parties realize the equilibrium of interest distribution. The suggestions of the paper are that the government should carry out the system of “retirement allowance” and transform “subsidy” to “allowance” to protect the interests of contractors, and the government should promote farmland transfer and encourage grain production by controlling the fluctuation range of farmland transfer rent.

Complex relations exist between issues of poverty, responsibility and just transitions toward reduced household energy use. One proposed transitional instrument is Personal Carbon Accounts (PCAs) which provide equal per capita carbon allowances and increase costs for additional usage. Previously modelled PCAs show that a third of households in poverty must curtail usage or pay more for some of their fuel, hitherto making PCAs ethically and politically untenable. Using the UK’s “Understanding Society” database, average per capita carbon allowances and—using occupancy data—the hypothetical allowance each household would receive within a PCA scheme are calculated. Occupancy levels, equivalised incomes and conversion of expenditure to carbon emissions permit analysis of households emitting more or less carbon compared to their allocation. We demonstrate that households emitting greater than average levels of CO2 do so mainly for lifestyle reasons, irrespective of income. Any calculation of legitimate social and environmental cost of CO2, even for households in poverty, must consider questions of choice and capacity to act. This suggests that even if certain low income, high emitting households are disadvantaged by the transition associated with personal carbon allowances this may still be a just transition.

Highlights • Israel has led a successful mitigation policy until mid-March 2020. • The policy collapsed abruptly following a holiday of public gatherings. • Analysis: transmission chains, local to imported cases time series and SEQIJR dynamical model. • No evidence for significant contribution of super-spreaders. • Even short lapse in public responsiveness can dramatically affect public health., Objectives Despite an initial success, Israel’s quarantine-isolation COVID-19 policy has collapsed abruptly. This study’s aim is to identify the causes that lead to this exponential rise in the accumulation of confirmed cases. Methods Epidemiological investigation reports were used to reconstruct chains of transmission as well as assess the net contribution of local infections relative to imported cases, infected travelers arriving from abroad. A mathematical model was implemented in order to describe the efficiency of the quarantine-isolation policy and the inflow of imported cases. The model simulations included two scenarios for the actual time series of the symptomatic cases, providing insights regarding the conditions that lead to the abrupt change. Results The abrupt change followed the Jewish holiday of Purim in which many public gatherings were held. According to the first scenario, the accumulation of confirmed cases before Purim was driven by imported cases resulting in controlled regime, with an effective reproduction number, Re, of 0.69. In the second scenario which followed Purim, a continuous rise of the local to imported cases ratio began, which led to an exponential growth regime characterized by Re of 4.34. It was found that the change of regime cannot be attributed to super-spreader events, as these consisted of approximately 5% of the primary cases which resulted in 17% of the secondary cases. Conclusions A general lesson for health policy makers should be that even a short lapse in public responsiveness can lead to dire consequences.

Rabbits are the third species in terms of number of animals reared for meat production in the world. However, in comparison to other species, very few studies have focused on their welfare. The aim of the present study is to implement an animal welfare-assessment protocol developed through a multidimensional approach and containing a number of animal-based measures for bucks, does, and kit rabbits. Thirty Spanish farms with conventional cages in the first year of integration in an animal welfare certification scheme were visited during 2019 and audited by the same auditor. The protocol is divided into four principles and 11 criteria. The Good Feeding principle includes eight parameters (one animal-based), Good Housing includes 15 parameters (six animal-based), Good Health includes 26 parameters (16 animal-based), and Appropriate Behavior contains nine parameters (four animal-based). In general, the main problems found were the absence of platforms, low space allowance and low height of the cage, inappropriate systems for performing emergency killing, insufficient protection of does from other adjacent does when housed individually, and absence of enrichment material. To a minor degree, but also found in an important number of farms, was a lack of temperature data records, high replacement rates of does, and lack of mortality-rate data records. However, in general, most of the farms obtained a good overall score, the maximum found being 73 out of 100 points. Nevertheless, none of the farms reached an excellent score, and four farms were scored below the 55 points required in the animal welfare certification scheme. The Good Feeding principle obtained the highest score, reaching excellent in all farms, and Appropriate Behavior the lowest one, with values ranging from 21 to 41 points out of 100. The results probably show how, for years, rabbit producers have been very focused on feeding needs and very little attention has been paid to behavioral needs. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The Scotland Act 2016 devolved powers over eleven social security benefits (including Carer’s Allowance) providing Scotland with some, albeit limited, opportunity to differentiate itself in terms of welfare policy progressivity. The Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 set out the strategy for supporting those who limit their employment or educational enrolment due to the responsibility of caring for an adult or child with a health condition. Using a microsimulation of Scottish data from the Family Resource Survey, this article explores the potential impact, on income and poverty rates of carer households, of raising the level of CA by various amounts and by changing the eligibility criteria. It concludes that, while the Scottish Government’s ambitions are too modest to fully support their progressive rhetoric, or to change the overall income inequality landscape, the reforms in targeted policy do make a substantial difference to the lived experience to carers in poverty and, by extension, to the receipt of that care.

A total of 976 pigs (PIC 327 × Camborough; PIC, Hendersonville, TN; initially 22.0 ± 1.53 kg body weight [BW]) were used in a 160-d growth study to evaluate the effects of increasing space allowance and varying marketing strategies on growth performance of pigs raised to market weights of ~165 kg. Pens of pigs were blocked by location within the barn and allotted to one of six treatments. Pen served as the experimental unit, and there were eight replicate pens per treatment. The first four treatments consisted of increased initial stocking density and did not utilize topping strategies: (1) 14 pigs/pen (1.17 m2/pig), (2) 17 pigs/pen (0.97 m2/pig), (3) 20 pigs/pen (0.82 m2/pig), and (4) 23 pigs/pen (0.71 m2/pig). The fifth treatment began with 25 pigs/pen (0.66 m2/pig) and had four marketing events with the heaviest 3 pigs/pen removed on day 93, and additional pigs removed to a common inventory of 20 pigs/pen on day 122 and 17 pigs/pen on day 147 with final marketing on day 160. The final treatment began the experiment with 23 pigs/pen (0.71 m2/pig) with three marketing events to achieve a common inventory of 20 pigs/pen on day 108 and 17 pigs/pen on day 147. Pens of pigs were weighed and feed disappearance measured on days 0, 55, 93, 108, 122, 135, 147, and 160. As space allowance decreased from 1.17 to 0.71 m2/pig via increased initial pen inventory (treatments 1 to 4), overall average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) decreased (linear, P < 0.001), while gain:feed ratio (G:F) did not differ (P > 0.05). The treatments with multiple marketing events were compared with each other and with the treatment that began with 0.71 m2/pig and only marketed once at the end of the study. Overall ADG and ADFI were not different (P > 0.05) among these three treatments. Marketing pigs three or four times improved (P < 0.05) G:F compared with the treatment that began the study with 0.71 m2/pig and marketed only once. Reducing floor space allowance for heavy weight pigs decreased intake, which resulted in lower growth rate and final BW, with these reductions occurring before the critical k-value was reached. Total weight gain per pen was maximized with the lowest space allowance and the multiple marketing treatments. Thus, strategic use of pig removals prior to final marketing may allow producers to maximize both number of pigs and total weight marketed through a barn when feeding to heavy weights.

Higher educational institutions (HEIs) often categorise certain students as 'disabled' in order to support inclusive and equitable study. 'Disabled' students studying in higher education may be asked to 'disclose a disability', request and agree 'reasonable adjustments' that their institution will 'provide' them, and engage with processes such as applying for 'Disabled Students' Allowance'. However, there is little understanding of preferences and comfort with language in this area, and if students do not i dentify with terms such as 'disabled', this can create barriers to requesting or accessing support. This paper describes a qualitative study to investigate language preferences for common points of communication with the HEI. We held interviews and focus groups with students (n=12) and utilised discourse analysis to investigate the language used and student perceptions of language. We identified three distinct models of language used to discuss study needs relating to a 'disability', each with language nor ms and specific nomenclature. Furthermore, we found divergence in preferences in language, leading us to argue that differential and inclusive approaches to language use should be explored.

Simple Summary Reviews are needed to synthesize known information on a particular topic. Beef cattle welfare is an emergent research field. Decisions producers make, such as how to house cattle, can impact their overall welfare. Environmental features that can influence the microclimate and beef cattle welfare include floor type, space allowance, shade availability, and inclusion of enrichment (EE) devices or ventilation features. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review was to examine the relationship between housing and welfare metrics, so that beef cattle producers and animal scientists can make informed decisions regarding how their housing choices may impact beef cattle welfare. The databases searched were CAB (Ovid), AGRIS (Ovid), Agricola (EBSCO) and Searchable Proceedings of Animal Conferences. The final search was conducted on June 4, 2018. One reviewer determined relevancy of studies based on titles and abstracts. The full text was reviewed to determine study inclusion and four trained reviewers collected data from the included studies using pre-defined forms. From 1147 citations, 40 studies were included that evaluated the impact of a feature of beef cattle housing on welfare. In this review, we outlined how these features may positively or negatively impact cattle health, productivity, stress and behavior. Our main findings were as follows: (1) Space allowance influences feedlot cattle biology and behavior (2) Veal calves exhibited behavioral, physiological, and performance parameters indicative of a positive welfare state while group housed and (3) Provision of progressive modifications (e.g., shade, EE) to the feedlot environment resulted in increased performance of species-specific behaviors Abstract Housing systems and environmental features can influence beef cattle welfare. To date, little information has been synthesized on this topic. The aim of this scoping review was to examine the relationship between housing and welfare status, so that beef cattle producers and animal scientists can make informed decisions regarding how their housing choices could impact beef cattle welfare. Housing features were categorized by floor type, space allowance and shade availability, as well as the inclusion of enrichment devices or ventilation features. Evaluation of space allowances across feedlot environments determined behavioral and production benefits when cattle were housed between 2.5 m2 to 3.0 m2 per animal. Over 19 different flooring types were investigated and across flooring types; straw flooring was viewed most favorably from a behavioral, production and hygiene standpoint. Veal calves experience enhanced welfare (e.g., improved behavioral, physiological, and performance metrics) when group housed. There is evidence that the implementation of progressive housing modifications (e.g., shade, environmental enrichment) could promote the behavioral welfare of feedlot cattle. This review presents the advantages and disadvantages of specific housing features on the welfare of beef cattle.

In early 2018, a reform of the world’s largest functioning greenhouse gas emissions cap-and-trade system, the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), was formally approved. The reform changed the main principles of the system by endogenizing the emissions cap. We show that the emissions cap is now affected by the allowance demand and is therefore no longer set directly by EU policymakers. As a consequence, national policies that reduce allowance demand can now reduce long-run cumulative emissions, which is not possible in a standard cap-and-trade system. Using a newly developed dynamic model of the EU ETS, we show that policies that reduce allowance demand can have substantial effects on cumulative emissions after the reform. Model simulations also suggest that the reform reduces long-run cumulative emissions and, to a lesser extent, reduces emissions in the short run. Even so, the reform has a small short-run impact on the currently large allowance surplus.

A reflection is underway in Italy on the transposition of directive 2019/1158 of June 20, 2019 concerning the work-life balance of parents and aid, in a context aggravated by the health crisis linked to COVID-19 and the exceptional conciliation measures applicable until the end of the emergency period. At the same time, the government approved a draft law known as the Family Act, delegating to the government for the adoption of the universal allowance and the introduction of measures support for families. The scope of which is broader and more general than the many mechanisms mentioned, there is no formal link with directive 2019/1158. In the legal context in force in Italy, the effect of the transposition of the directive will probably relate to the rights of custody of the father and the so-called equivalent parent (« fathers or, where appropriate, persons recognized as equivalent second parents by national legislation »), on which the project insists, which highlights the persistent problem of the distinction between employed and self-employed workers, and the complex architecture of the existing legal regime.

The number of one-person households of the elderly continues to rise in developed countries. The study assesses the standard of living in this type of households. The aim of this study is to explore the standard of living of single older adults (60+) in Poland by focusing on the relationship between demographic and socio-economic factors as well as their objective financial situation and subjective satisfaction on their financial and consumption standards. To evaluate the standard of living in one-person households run by people aged 60 and over, the aggregate (composite) indicator was designed, based on the Economic Living Standard Index method. The key issues relating to multifaceted aspects of sustainable development are both the level and the quality of life. It can be concluded that the elderly people running one-person households constitute a group that is heterogeneous due to their different socio-economic and demographic characteristics, which in turn affect their various living standards. The highest standard of living can be noticed in the households run by white-collar workers, self-employed persons and well educated persons. The lowest standard of living can be observed in the households run by groups of people including farmers, people having income from social sources (without pensions), living on supplementary welfare allowance and persons with lower education level (secondary, primary or less). Remedial measures should be taken for these social groups. The key factors determining the standard of living in one-person households of the elderly are socioeconomic status and education level.

During Phase 3 of the EU Emission Trading System (ETS), to remedy the so-called windfall profits obtained by companies that benefited from the free allocation of emission permits, the EU introduced an auction-based method for the allocation of carbon emission allowances. We estimate the effect on firms' profits from participating in auctions during Phase 3 of the EU ETS using a propensity score matching approach. The work shows that the introduction of the new market mechanism for allocating carbon emission allowances has no significant effect on corporate profits, whatever the measure of profitability used. From a policy standpoint, this result seems to suggest that this new allocation mechanism might fail to improve the incentives for companies to increase their production cost efficiency or to invest in breakthrough technologies that reduce CO2. The rather flat auction price trend seems to support this conclusion.