| 1. |
- Ekenberg, Love, et al.
(författare)
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Deliberation, representation, equity : research approaches, tools and algorithms for participatory processes
- 2017
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Bok (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- What can we learn about the development of public interaction in e-democracy from a drama delivered by mobile headphones to an audience standing around a shopping center in a Stockholm suburb? In democratic societies there is widespread acknowledgment of the need to incorporate citizens' input in decision-making processes in more or less structured ways. But participatory decision making is balancing on the borders of inclusion, structure, precision and accuracy. To simply enable more participation will not yield enhanced democracy, and there is a clear need for more elaborated elicitation and decision analytical tools. This rigorous and thought-provoking volume draws on a stimulating variety of international case studies, from flood risk management in the Red River Delta of Vietnam, to the consideration of alternatives to gold mining in Ro?ia Montana in Transylvania, to the application of multi-criteria decision analysis in evaluating the impact of e-learning opportunities at Uganda's Makerere University. Editors Love Ekenberg (senior research scholar, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis [IIASA], Laxenburg, professor of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University), Karin Hansson (artist and research fellow, Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University), Mats Danielson (vice president and professor of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University, affiliate researcher, IIASA) and Göran Cars (professor of Societal Planning and Environment, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm) draw innovative collaborations between mathematics, social science, and the arts. They develop new problem formulations and solutions, with the aim of carrying decisions from agenda setting and problem awareness through to feasible courses of action by setting objectives, alternative generation, consequence assessments, and trade-off clarifications. As a result, this book is important new reading for decision makers in government, public administration and urban planning, as well as students and researchers in the fields of participatory democracy, urban planning, social policy, communication design, participatory art, decision theory, risk analysis and computer and systems sciences.
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| 2. |
- Johansson, Håkan, 1972-, et al.
(författare)
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Characterization of Campylobacter spp. isolated from wild birds in the Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic
- 2018
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science. - 1932-6203. ; 13:11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A lack of knowledge of naturally occurring pathogens is limiting our ability to use the Antarctic to study the impact human-mediated introduction of infectious microorganisms have on this relatively uncontaminated environment. As no large-scale coordinated effort to remedy this lack of knowledge has taken place, we rely on smaller targeted efforts to both study present microorganisms and monitor the environment for introductions. In one such effort, we isolated Campylobacter species from fecal samples collected from wild birds in the Antarctic Peninsula and the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia. Indeed, in South Georgia, we found Campylobacter lari and the closely related Campylobacter peloridis, but also distantly related human-associated multilocus sequence types of Campylobacter jejuni. In contrast, in the Antarctic Peninsula, we found C. tart and two closely related species, Campylobacter subantarcticus and Campylobacter volucris, but no signs of human introduction. In fact, our finding of human-associated sequence types of C. jejuni in South Georgia, but not in the Antarctic Peninsula, suggests that efforts to limit the spread of infectious microorganisms to the Antarctic have so far been successful in preventing the introduction of C. jejuni. However, we do not know how it came to South Georgia and whether the same mode of introduction could spread it from there to the Antarctic Peninsula.
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| 3. |
- Sjöberg, Karin, et al.
(författare)
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Nationell Miljöövervakning - LuftData t.o.m. 2009
- 2011
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- På uppdrag av Naturvårdsverkets Miljöövervakningsenhet bedrivs mätningar av luftens och nederbördens sammansättning, främst i bakgrundsmiljö, inom olika mätprogram. IVL Svenska Miljöinstitutet har ansvar för genomförandet av merparten av verksamheten inom luftområdet. Därtill ombesörjer både Institutionen för Tillämpad Miljöteknik (ITM) vid Stockholms universitet och Institutionen för Mark och Miljö vid Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet (SLU) delar av övervakningen. De samlade resultaten från mätningarna till och med 2009 redovisas i denna rapport. Det har generellt sett skett en avsevärd förbättring avseende såväl halter i luft som deposition i bakgrundsmiljö för flertalet av de luftföroreningskomponenter som övervakas inom den nationella miljöövervakningen sedan mätningarna startade för mellan 10 och 30 år sedan. Utvecklingen har dock varierat i något olika utsträckning beroende på komponent och lokalisering i landet. Föroreningsbelastningen är oftast lägre ju längre norrut man kommer. För de flesta de ämnen som det finns miljökvalitetsnormer (MKN) respektive miljömål för ligger halterna avsevärt lägre än angivna gräns- och målvärden. Halterna av ozon överskrider i dagsläget MKN för hälsa. För såväl ozon som bensen (i urban bakgrund) och eten finns risk för haltnivåer som överstiger miljömålen.
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| 4. |
- Ahmed, Haseeb, et al.
(författare)
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Animal welfare efforts and farm economic outcomes: Evidence from Swedish beef production
- 2023
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Ingår i: Agricultural and Resource Economics Review. - 1068-2805. ; 52, s. 498-519
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We estimate the relationship between farm animal welfare (FAW) efforts taken by beef farmers and the economic performance of beef farms by using farm accounting data from the Swedish Farm Economic Survey matched with survey data on farm management practices. To this end, we perform a two-step analysis. First, an item response theory (IRT) model estimates the latent FAW effort on farms. FAW effort likely depends on a host of complementary FAW-improving strategies, and the IRT model combines the considered strategies into a unidimensional scale. We take this to represent on-farm FAW effort. Second, we use instrumental variable regressions to estimate the relationship between FAW effort and multiple measures of farm economic performance. We find that higher FAW effort scores have no effect on margins and costs. However, higher FAW effort scores are associated with lower farm sales. Findings suggest that policies (such as targeted label for high FAW) that increase farm revenue as well as incentivize the uptake of FAW-improvement practices may be able to compensate farmers for their FAW effort.
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| 5. |
- Ahmed, Haseeb, et al.
(författare)
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Assessing Animal Welfare and Farm Profitability in Cow-Calf Operations with Stochastic Partial Budgeting
- 2021
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Ingår i: Animals. - : MDPI AG. - 2076-2615. ; 11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Simple SummaryThe increased consumer demand for high levels of farm animal welfare (FAW) have prompted debates about the costs of achieving higher FAW. Yet, little is known about the economic consequences of improvements in FAW, especially in cow-calf operations. This study contributes to the literature by investigating the relationship between farm profitability and improved FAW measure in terms of increased space allowance in Swedish cow-calf operations. We found that a 0.5 m(2) increase in space allowance per calf (achieved by a corresponding reduction of herd size) was associated with a 6.9 to 18.7% reduction in farm-level contribution margins in the short term. Our results suggest that FAW improvements can be costly for farms and these costs should be considered while taking policy decisions regarding improvements in FAW standards.The societal demand for good farm animal welfare (FAW) has increased over time. Yet, very little is known about the economic consequences of improvements in FAW in cow-calf operations. This study investigates on-farm economic consequences of improved FAW measures in cow-calf operations. It uses a stochastic partial budgeting approach to examine the relationship between contribution margins and improvements in FAW in terms of increased space allowance for a typical Swedish cow-calf operation, as compared to current practices. In the current practice, a cow should be given at least 5 m(2) and the calf 2.2 m(2). We found that a 0.5 m(2) increase in space allowance per calf (achieved by a corresponding reduction of herd size) was associated with a 6.9 to 18.7% reduction in contribution margins in the short term. Our analysis does not include possible indirect gains like decrease in disease incidence and enhanced non-use or 'soft' values associated with increased FAW. However, our analysis indicates that high FAW standards can be costly and careful cost-benefit analysis should be a part of decision-making processes regarding FAW standards. Our results also suggest a need for government support payments and/or the development of market mechanisms to stimulate farmers to continue producing livestock-based foods with high FAW.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Ahmed, Haseeb, et al.
(författare)
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Assessing economic consequences of improved animal welfare in Swedish cattle fattening operations using a stochastic partial budgeting approach
- 2020
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Ingår i: Livestock Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 1871-1413 .- 1878-0490. ; 232
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There is an increased concern among many stakeholders in society that livestock production systems provide a low-quality life to the animals and therefore advocate improved farm animal welfare (FAW). On the other hand, producers are concerned that stricter welfare regulations would decrease their profits and hence their competitiveness. Given the relevance of the debate surrounding FAW especially in Sweden, and the lack of studies related to the beef sector, this study examined the impact of changes in FAW practices on economic performance of Swedish beef fattening operations. We modelled a herd of 50 cattle of either beef or dairy breed reared for meat production to examine the impact of increased space allowance, including a corresponding decrease in herd size, and increased forage-to-concentrate (FC) ratio. We found that a 1-m(2)/animal increase in space allowance was associated with a decrease of 18.9 and 10.8% in short-run, per animal profits in beef and dairy breeds, respectively. Sensitivity analysis suggested that an increase in weight gain and short-run loss in herd size due to increased space allowance were the most important factors. We estimated that an increase in the FC ratio from 40:60 to 65:35 was associated with a reduction in per animal profits of about 21 to 34% in beef breeds and 17 to 53% in dairy breeds, respectively. Sensitivity analysis indicated that reduced growth due to increased FC ratio was the most important factor. Our results suggest that an increase in space allowance or FC ratio in Swedish beef fattening operations may reduce farm profitability. They also imply that consequences of any policy instrument should be carefully examined to reach the goal of improved FAW along with improved profitability and sustainability for the farmer.
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| 8. |
- Ahmed, Haseeb, et al.
(författare)
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Costs and benefits of good animal welfare - for animals, farmers and society
- 2022
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Society’s demand for good animal welfare has led to discussions about the costs of achieving and maintaining one. This is relevant to Swedish animalbased food production, because producers in Sweden in many respects have stricter requirements than farmers in other countries. They therefore face competition from imported foods produced under less strict animal welfare regulations. At the same time, good animal welfare can have a value in itself and can provide benefits for animals, farmers and society.
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| 9. |
- Ahmed, Haseeb, et al.
(författare)
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Kostnader och vinster med gott djurskydd : för djur, lantbrukare och samhälle
- 2022
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Annan publikation (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- Samhällets krav på god djurvälfärd har lett till diskussioner om kostnaderna för att uppnå och upprätthålla en sådan. Detta är relevant för svensk djurbaserad livsmedelsproduktion, eftersom producenter i Sverige i många avseenden har hårdare krav än i andra länder. De möter därför konkurrens från importerade livsmedel som producerats med mindre strikta djurskyddsbestämmelser. Samtidigt kan gott djurskydd ha ett värde i sig och ge fördelar för djur, lantbrukare och samhälle.
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| 10. |
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