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This paper surveys some of the key themes in European agricultural policy research in recent decades. It identifies three main drivers of this research: a gradual broadening of the scope of the discipline in response to changing political priorities and values; an enlarged toolbox of policy instruments that has raised new questions and required the development of new modes of analysis; and the availability of new data sources, increased computing power, as well as the introduction of new methodological advances from economics, statistics and psychology that have opened the way to new and more powerful analytical tools. Particular attention is paid to direct payments and agri-environment-climate measures as examples of new policy instruments that have driven the research agenda. The paper concludes by identifying requirements to ensure that agricultural policy research remains vibrant and relevant in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buildings' energy efficiency may affect real estate prices, but the literature suggests that the effects of green attributes and Energy Performance Certificate ratings on the value of residential properties in Europe are still variable across contexts. The adoption of methods able to appropriately investigate this issue is thus essential. In this framework and to support future studies, this paper offers a methodological review of scientific works on the topic published in the last five years. Our work does not only represent an update of other reviews, but it originally analyses the papers by a methodological viewpoint. Results highlight a progressive refinement of the research questions and methods adopted. Then, the increasing importance of concepts such as latent variables and green attributes in the real estate pricing process is detected and identified as a field to be furtherly explored. Finally, Structural Equation Modelling is proposed as a promising approach for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Production from crops of pome, stone fruit, nut, berry fruit, citrus, grapevine, and olive is increasingly threatened by fungal trunk diseases (FTD). These diseases and the consequent production losses are major problems. Many fungi (including Botryosphaeriaceae, Calosphaeriaceae, Diaporthaceae, Diatrypaceae, Nectriaceae, Phaeomoniellaceae, Pleosporaceae, Togniniaceae, Valsaceae) infect host wood, mainly through wounds and subsequent colonization of woody tissues, causing symptoms such as cankers, gummosis, wood rotting, blight and dieback. Propagative plant material, seedlings and fruit play a significant role in pathogen spread. Several abiotic factors (e.g. shifts in cultural practices and climate change) are involved in the disease development. This paper reviews recent literature on FTD of fruit crops, particularly focusing on the European status of pathogen occurrence. Case studies are described related to diseases of apple, citrus, grapevine, berry, nut and stone fruit, and olive trees. Aspects related to epidemiology and the increase in disease incidence along with the future perspectives on the FTD research are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While higher effort in research is advocated for agriculture, there continues to be a lack of measurement of its impact in economic terms, at least in Europe. This paper seeks to assess the economic impact of public agricultural R&D investments in Europe. Different panel models are applied on 16 European countries, by employing productivity and investment data. Results show positive impacts with returns on public R&D investments on agricultural productivity of between 6.5% and 15.2%, varying according to model specifications and computation techniques. These values confirm that research expenditure in agriculture is well justified in economic terms. However, the results are highly dependent on the analytical approach and limited by the paucity of expenditure data. Further research is recommended to take into account the role of other important determinants of impact, such as climate, spill overs and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). However, a proper consideration of these variables will first require a major improvement of data availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Form@re is the property of Firenze University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A large amount of policy support is spent to foster the development of rural areas in Europe. However, empirical evidence on the well-being differential between rural and urban areas in Europe is scant and incomplete. The present study develops a systematic literature review on this topic, bridging a gap in research as a systematic analysis on the subject has not been developed as far as we know. It uses the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method. The review focuses on definitions of rural-urban most used in the literature, main dimensions of well-being that are analyzed, nature of the data and, finally, evidence that emerged regarding the differences in the various dimensions of well-being between rural and urban populations. The analysis confirms that available evidence is controversial and provides advice on how to develop new and better empirical analyses on this topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of TECHNE: Journal of Technology for Architecture & Environment is the property of Firenze University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of TECHNE: Journal of Technology for Architecture & Environment is the property of Firenze University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

European Parliament elections have often been defined second-order elections, focused on national rather than transnational issues. This paper investigates the combined impact of Eurosceptic populism and social media in the development of the campaign during the 2019 European Parliament elections. It evaluates how populist and non-populist politicians and parties campaigned for the European elections on Twitter by using the case study of Italy. Computer-assisted quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis of social media content are used to assess the relevance of Europe in political communication and the strategies used by different political actors. Findings show that the concept of nation plays a central role in the campaign, with Europe depicted either as an enemy (by nationalist populism) or a saviour (by pro-Europeans). Moreover, there is e tendency towards a "populist shift" in the communication style. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the roots of political engagement has been one of the critical tasks performed by students of comparative political behaviour. This paper adds to the literature by examining the determinants of political discussion about local and national affairs in Europe. A series of multilevel logit models are fitted to the data (n = 28,563 from 31 European countries) to test the individual and country level determinants of political discussion about local and national matters. At the individual level, we find that gender, the type of community, the type of civil society organisations people are members of, and their level of education affect the type of politics they engage with. At the macro level, citizens from countries with a higher economic development are more likely to engage in discussions about national affairs, while the impact of local government autonomy does not seem to make individuals more likely to engage in discussions about local politics. The findings suggest that if local politics is considered the share of politically disengaged citizens can be smaller than is typically estimated. The full range of democratic practice may thus remain underappreciated if non-national politics is left out of the picture in the study of political engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper highlights the dynamics related to the problem of the integration of immigrants in Europe, focusing on the spread of prejudices and on the multiple conditions of exclusion. The main aim refers to the effectiveness of integration policies implemented in Europe. For this purpose, data from different sources are analysed to measure the degree of hostility versus tolerance towards foreign immigrants, both through official data and with the analysis of online comments published on Twitter during the period of European elections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article outlines an approach to different modalities of exposed writing in early modern Europe, following a discussion on the concept. Domestic, closed and public spaces are considered, in order to understand the multiple meanings - political, informational, devotional, promotional, testimonial and even as mere pastime, as is the case of many graffiti - of exposed writing. This approach always looks into the places where the writings were displayed, their supports (parchment, paper, cloth, stone, wall), the different ways in which they were made (written and painted by hand, printed, incised or chiselled) as well as the conditions of exposure, since all these aspects have an explicit impact on the function pursued by each writing fixed or written on a wall. There are clear differences between monumental inscriptions, commercial advertisements, libels and graffiti. Likewise, their placement in a street where everyone could see them or in a church, a prison or a domestic space entailed different functions. Depending on the place of exposure and the type of writing, they were used to question their contemporary society in one way or another; the questions that arise today, when we study the presence of these types of writing during that period, are just as manifold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Form@re is the property of Firenze University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The increasing intensification of dairy farming in Europe has sparked an interest in studying the economic consequences of this process. However, empirically classifying farms as extensive or intensive is not a straightforward task. In recent papers, Latent Class Models (LCM) have been used to avoid an ad-hoc split of the sample into intensive and extensive dairy farms. A limitation of current specifications of LCM is that they do not allow farms to switch between different productive systems over time. This feature of the model is at odds with the process of intensification of the European dairy industry in recent decades. We allow for changes of production system over time by estimating a single LCM model but splitting the original panel into two periods, and find that the probability of using the intensive technology increases over time. Our estimation proposal opens up the possibility of studying the effects of intensification not only across farms but also over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The difficulties associated with the creation of a large database of book prices include giving effective answers to questions such as how prices were formed during the various steps of the production process (sedimentation of production costs, costs related to the sale) or what the nature of the assigned value is (estimated in the case of used books, or of stock inventories, or the result of special conditions offered to specific customers, etc.). But first it is necessary to reflect on the interpretation given to the figures provided by the heterogeneous documentation which supports the creation of such a database. The many reference currencies in which these prices are expressed, depending on the monetary area of action of the economic operators (printers, booksellers, customers) are likely to confuse and mislead if their exact meaning is not clearly understood. This problem becomes even more urgent when, for example, the primary sources are the private notes of a collector who recorded how much he had paid for a book, or when two different currencies in place or in time have the same name. This aspect is also crucial in comparing different places and markets. Was the price expressed in money of account or in coined money? In domestic or foreign currency? Is it possible to relate two prices expressed in different currencies? The purpose of this paper is therefore to explore in greater depth some of the economic-monetary aspects of Renaissance Europe in order to help clarify any doubts or misreadings by building a reliable picture of the various types of currency used in Europe between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This is an essential step to subsequently address the possibility of comparing prices expressed in different currencies as they emerged on different markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a summary of the conceptual framework within which a study of book prices should take place and the research issues, as well as the methodological problems, which need to be addressed. Although the nature of books as semiindustrial goods puts them in a different class of product as seen from the point of view of a pre-industrial economy, the broad categories of supply and demand have been used to identify a series of factors giving rise to specific research questions which need input from various aspects of economic historical analysis. The history of the book is placed in relation to some classic topics of economic history, in an attempt to put the book trade and the prices of books in the context of a broader historiographical debate. Among available sources for early modern book prices, the inventory of the book shop of Bernardo Giunti (Department of Special Collections, UCLA, Collection 170/622) is evidence of the thriving book market in Venice of the period. The almost 12,000 entries included in the list of books for sale reflect the purposes and aims of the firm. The structure of this document is somewhat complex as it was in continual use for more than twenty years. Over this period of time, it appears to have become not merely a catalogue or finding-list of books for the use of the firm's clerks, but also an important tool for the management of the shop and its stock. Almost every title is priced, making this inventory one of the most extensive and significant sources for the study of book prices in early modern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Youth unemployment is still a persistent conflict. Youth unemployment rates in European countries always used to be higher than average unemployment rates. This has not only to be defined as an individual but also as a structural phenomenon. Since socialization via work is still highly relevant and an aspect of the future European integration, youth unemployment occurs to be a very crucial issue for sociological research. This means a research that reflects the mutual constitution or interplay of individual and collective processes as well as the drag effects of institutional and individual behavior. The paper investigates this debate and asks whether one could one speak of a "forgotten generation" or even of a "generation without future" in Europe. It exemplifies several empirical studies and develops a framework for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Besides the main mission of spreading cultural heritage knowledge, Europeana as well as many GLAMs are very engaged in developing new strategies in order to make digital contents reusable for creative industry. Nevertheless, these actions have been successful just only in sporadic cases. A wrong approach to communication often undermines efforts. This paper particularly describes a case study including proposals for an effective connection among Europeana, GLAMs and Creative Industry in the framework of Food and Drink digital heritage enhancement and promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform of 2014-2020 is characterized by a strong mandate of Member States regarding the 1st Pillar. This paper's objective is to elucidate the possible impacts of Italian choices on direct payments and their coherence with the specific objectives of the CAP, which was established by the Expert Group on Monitoring and Evaluating the CAP (EGMEC): food security and sustainable food production. Thus, an online survey was disseminated among Italian CAP experts in the spring of 2015. The results from a sample of 25 respondents show that Italian direct payments may positively contribute to viable food production by improving agricultural competitiveness. In addition, the combined effect of general direct payment schemes and Italian choices is to ensure sustainable food provision or, at least, to successfully allow the exploration of this new route in CAP history, which most likely represents future challenge for European agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crises bring both human consequences and political repercussions. COV-ID-19, like any other crisis, strained both European governments and public support for them. During the first wave of the pandemic, political trust was correlated with public adherence to infection containment measures in the major democracies. At the end of the first wave, how did public perceptions of COVID-19 measures and of measures introduced by institutions to protect health and the economy affect the bond of political trust between the governed and the governors? Using Eurobarometer data, we estimate the effects on political trust of the public's assessment of institutional performance, political output and policy. Applying various multilevel regression models, we show that, at the end of the first wave of the pandemic, political trust was positively affected by institutional performance and only partially affected public perceptions and the policy measures taken by governments to contain the spread of the virus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decade, affective polarization (AP) has become an increasingly salient topic in both public discourse and political science. Several different measurement instruments have been developed to empirically capture this phenomenon. With the rising interest that affective polarization is now also enjoying in Europe, it has become of the utmost importance to assess what these different measures capture, and to what extent their application travels to different contexts. In this study we test several AP measures on a student population with various European nationalities. We assess their overlap and effectiveness in mapping AP, to help future research working towards greater empirical clarity, and making informed choices on which kind of measures to include in questionnaires and data collections. The results indicate that, while different items usually produce different point estimates and sometimes different answer patterns, the measurement of affective polarization appears relatively indifferent to the choice of items. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed presence of Trichoderma spp. in the Maltese Islands. Isolates were identified using dichotomous keys and DNA barcoding. Ten distinct isolates were obtained from different soils and other substrates, and were identified as T. virens, T. citrinoviride, T. gamsii, and, in the former T. harzianum species complex, T. breve, T. afroharzianum and T. atrobrunneum. Five out of these six fungi are reported for the first time in the Maltese Islands, and T. brevis is reported for the first time in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This editorial is intended to frame the special issue of the Journal of Early Modern Studies devoted to The Circulation of Cosmographical Knowledge in Early Modern Europe. Providing early modern definitions of cosmography and differentiating between cosmography and geography, it takes stock of the latest scholarly publications on the subject and sheds light on the various contributions in this issue. In the presentation of the various sections, it emphasizes fresh perspectives and methodologies likely to open up new interpretive paths in the field of cosmography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the decades Europe has become a destination for different groups of migrants, including mobile citizens from the European Union Member States. At the same time European citizens have become more mobile with a growing number of cross-border practices connecting them to places and people abroad through migration, travel, social networks or consumption practices. The main contribution of this study is in analysing to what extent processes of Europeanization, at an individual and country level, matter for sentiments towards immigration. Data suggest that social globalization processes may produce a sense of threat, but individual transnationalism seems to provide a remedy against prejudice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the mid-1770s onwards there was a clear shift in perspective in the way European commentators looked at China, a subject that, especially in an era defined by Paul Hazard as the crisis of European consciousness, had long appealed to Western culture as both a cognitive and more generally an intellectual challenge. The contrast between sinophilic and sinophobic attitudes, which often characterized the evolution, even temporal, of the eighteenth-century perception of Chinese reality, cannot alone explain the shifts in interest and changes of opinion that occurred towards the end of the eighteenth century. What this contribution aims to highlight is how, in some key observers of and commentators on China between the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century - from Adam Smith, Abbé Raynal and Denis Diderot, to Lord Macartney and John Barrow - one can detect perspectives and reflections that cannot be due to a simple descriptive register or to attempts at apologia or devaluation, but rather to approaches tending to include China in global comparative historical or socio-economic reasoning. And how, with that reasoning, the assumption of the superiority of the European model leads to China being seen no longer as a mere object of admiration or a source of inspiration, but as a new actor with a new role in global history. The discourse thus tends to take on, in various ways, prescriptive overtones, aimed at identifying the internal and external changes necessary for the part that, from a Western perspective, China could play in a connected world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The latest emergencies -- economic, refugee, and the pandemic of Covid-19 -- has impacted in European collective identity construction, especially in Southern Europe. This article investigates if the pandemic crisis has activated in young Italian and Spanish university students nationalistic or/and European responses. The analysis, based on an online survey, uses the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) statistical method to perform an exploratory analysis of the explanatory theoretical model of European sentiment. The results show that young people attribute several meanings to Europe during the pandemic, which are based mainly on making informed decisions and recognizing a common space of interaction as an opportunity of peace, security and democracy. The findings highlight the role of EU communicative actions in increasing trust in national and European institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work addresses the relevance of immigrant communities in a specific agricultural sector, extensive livestock husbandry -- pastoralism. This activity provides a primary source of employment and income specifically in inner and remote rural areas, where intensive farming systems are unfeasible. Trends in the last three decades indicate severe decrements of pastoral farms and herds throughout Europe, and specifically in its southern flanks. Shortage of skilled and motivated shepherding workforce ranks amongst the main triggers of these processes. In Mediterranean Europe, inflows of international immigrants have importantly contributed to fill these gaps, providing critical, though temporary, solutions to the labour market shortcomings. This work questions the opportunity to integrate immigrant shepherds in the process of generational renewal for Euro-Mediterranean pastoralism, and the effectiveness of existing experiences concerning institutional and technical support for these processes. This poses further policy and research questions about the potentials for immigrant communities to contribute to sustainable patterns of rural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grapevine trunk diseases (GTDs) are increasing in vineyards in many grape production regions. Among the pathogens causing these diseases, Neofusicoccum parvum, is one of the most frequent and virulent. To control GTDs, biocontrol is being developed using plant beneficial microorganisms. Strains of the oomycete Pythium oligandrum have been shown to naturally colonize grapevine roots in vineyards in several countries in Europe. This study examined the ability of the root-coloniser P. oligandrum to induce grapevine resistance against N. parvum, by deciphering the gene expression changes in a set of 62 genes involved in different grapevine defence pathways. Two greenhouse assays showed that the wood necrosis of vine cuttings caused by N. parvum was reduced by 65% when P. oligandrum colonized root systems of the plants. The relative expression levels of selected genes in the host trunks were studied by real-time PCR. Plant responses were assessed after inoculation by P. oligandrum and/or N. parvum, at three different sampling time points (0, 14 and 150 d after N. parvum inoculation). Sampling time influenced gene expressions for the different inoculation treatments. At each sampling time, specific host responses to the different treatments were also detected, for controls, and for inoculations with P. oligandrum, N. parvum or P. oligandrum + N. parvum. When P. oligandrum colonized grapevine root systems, inoculation with the pathogen was associated with increased up-regulation and over-expression of particular genes, including those regulating Pathogen-Related proteins, cell wall reinforcement proteins and hormone signalling pathways. A priming effect of the grapevine defence system was induced in roots colonized by P. oligandrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The two strategic documents for the future of Europe post 2020 (Green Deal) and agriculture in Europe (From Farm To Fork) recognize the important role of knowledge and innovation systems in accelerating change towards food sustainability. Researchers and advisors, together with the other actors of the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System, have the mandate to cooperate more closely to support all on this transition path. This includes stronger and more structured networking, increased information sharing and using digital tools to this effect. The proposed text aims to clarify how a systemic and interactive approach acts towards the above strategic aims in a more effective way, starting from what has already been achieved in this European programming period 2014-2020. A specific focus will be assigned to the EIPAGRI initiative, to its first results and to its possible evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Araucaria araucana is a south American endemic Conifer of conservation concern. After its introduction to Europe, this species has been often planted for ornamental purposes in parks and gardens, where its unusual appearance was admired. After the mid-1970s this tree received increasing attention from the nursery growers of Pistoia (Tuscany) and became of considerable economic importance. However, being one of the iconic threatened trees listed in CITES Appendix I, the international trade of these species is rigorously regulated. This study was aimed at developing a first morphological descriptor list for further phenotyping of in loco produced plant material. A first step of the research focused on the description and a better understanding of A. araucana phenological phases inferred from Mediterranean climate conditions. The second phase regarded the analysis of observed or measured morphological characteristics of the tree, branches, scales, inflorescences, fruits and seeds observed on a subset of 4 selected putative populations over a 3-year period of vegetative growth. The results allowed to select 39 most discriminant descriptors, which are presented together with their range of variability and classes. The achieved descriptor list represents a suitable tool for the selection of genotypes and for the breeding of A. araucana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The food sector has traditionally been considered one with the lowest research and development expenditure to value added ratio. In recent decades, however, the business environment has become more demanding in terms of technological inputs for reasons related to food safety, quality and also the globalisation of the food market. This provides a strong incentive to innovate, especially for small and mediumsized enterprises (SME) seeking to remain in business. Most businesses operating in the food sector belong to the SME category which, based on the literature, tends to have a low level of research capacity. This study seeks to identify determinants of the types of innovation adopted and associations between them by analysing a sample of European food SMEs. For this purpose a non-parametric analysis, namely the classification tree technique, is carried out. The main finding is that due to the technological factors inherent in the food industry, a tight linkage exists between product, process and market innovation. Moreover, the study shows that collaboration between competitors encourages SMEs to engage in market, process and business model innovation. Conversely, synergy with suppliers and customers supports product innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]