WorldWideScience

Sample records for great economic concern

  1. 'Great Power Style' in China's Economic Policy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jiang, Yang

    2011-01-01

    China’s ascendance attracts concern, even though Beijing claims to be a responsible great power and tries to demonstrate its ‘great power style’ in economic diplomacy. This article therefore discusses the following questions: to what extent does the current notion and practice of Chinese ‘great...... power style’ in economic diplomacy comply with, or differ from, the criteria of benign hegemony; and what are the major constraining factors? Conceptually, China’s ‘great power style’ is rooted in ancient Chinese political philosophy and institution, but it highly resembles the Western notion of benign...

  2. What Makes a Great Journal Great in Economics? The Singer Not the Song.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    C-L. Chang (Chia-Lin); M.J. McAleer (Michael); L. Oxley (Les)

    2010-01-01

    textabstractThe paper is concerned with analysing what makes a great journal great in economics, based on quantifiable measures. Alternative Research Assessment Measures (RAM) are discussed, with an emphasis on the Thomson Reuters ISI Web of Science database (hereafter ISI). The various ISI RAM that

  3. Population health concerns during the United States' Great Recession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Althouse, Benjamin M; Allem, Jon-Patrick; Childers, Matthew A; Dredze, Mark; Ayers, John W

    2014-02-01

    Associations between economic conditions and health are usually derived from cost-intensive surveys that are intermittently collected with nonspecific measures (i.e., self-rated health). This study identified how precise health concerns changed during the U.S. Great Recession analyzing Google search queries to identify the concern by the query content and their prevalence by the query volume. Excess health concerns were estimated during the Great Recession (December 2008 through 2011) by comparing the cumulative difference between observed and expected (based on linear projections from pre-existing trends) query volume for hundreds of individual terms. As performed in 2013, the 100 queries with the greatest excess were ranked and then clustered into themes based on query content. The specific queries with the greatest relative excess were stomach ulcer symptoms and headache symptoms, respectively, 228% (95% CI=35, 363) and 193% (95% CI=60, 275) greater than expected. Queries typically involved symptomology (i.e., gas symptoms) and diagnostics (i.e., heart monitor) naturally coalescing into themes. Among top themes, headache queries were 41% (95% CI=3, 148); hernia 37% (95% CI=16, 142); chest pain 35% (95% CI=6, 313); and arrhythmia 32% (95% CI=3, 149) greater than expected. Pain was common with back, gastric, joint, and tooth foci, with the latter 19% (95% CI=4, 46) higher. Among just the top 100, there were roughly 205 million excess health concern queries during the Great Recession. Google queries indicate that the Great Recession coincided with substantial increases in health concerns, hinting at how population health specifically changed during that time. © 2013 Published by American Journal of Preventive Medicine on behalf of American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

  4. Great economic crisis in Polish agriculture - a remainder and caution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wiesław Musiał

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available The work presents chosen aspects of the course of the so-called great economic crisis which took place in 1929-1933 in economy, including agricultural sector. The results of the crisis in the sphere of agricultural production, the use of production means and concerning shaping of the price level and price relationships were discussed. Attention was paid to the state intervention measures aimed to diminish the range of crisis in agriculture and reasons of their low efficiency. It was demonstrated that the crisis was very deep and beside the economy involved also the social, cultural and political spheres.

  5. The Great Books and Economics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartley, James E.

    2001-01-01

    Describes an introductory economics course in which all of the reading material is drawn from the Great Books of Western Civilization. Explains the rationale and mechanics of the course. Includes an annotated course syllabus that details how the reading material relates to the lecture material. (RLH)

  6. ECONOMICS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT (15 vols + 4 cdroms) by Gregory Zorzos

    OpenAIRE

    Gregory Zorzos

    2002-01-01

    Research contains many ancient texts (Ancient Greek, Hebrews, Hieroglyphs, Assyrian, Sumerian, Babylonian, Latin, etc.). 1. (MICRO-MACRO ECONOMICS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT (5 vols + cdrom). Microeconomics and macroeconomics of Alexander the Great. Economic theories, feasibilities, economic plannings, general description of the campaign's business plan etc. 2. BANKS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT (2 vols + cdrom) Describes banking system, economists, financiers, investors, accountants, bookkeepers, etc,...

  7. The Development of Tourist Relations during the Economic Crisis through the Example of the Southern Great Plain Region and Serbia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    PÉTER GULYÁS

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Since the beginning of the economic crisis, nearby feeder markets have become increasingly important for Hungary’s tourism sector with cross-border cooperation schemes playing an ever increasing role. This also holds true for Hungary’s Southern Great Plain Region when viewed in its relationship with neighbouring Serbia. This paper examines tourism flow changes in the Southern Hungarian Great Plain Region during the period of the economic crisis especially as far as tourism flows from Serbia are concerned. The analysis is based on official statistical data available in respect of commercial accommodation facilities, analyses on tourism trends carried out at the European level, and regional development documents drawn up for the Hungarian–Serbian cross border region. The economic crisis caused a significant downturn in tourism flows in the Southern Great Plain Region. However, the number of tourists arriving from Serbia to the Southern Great Plain and the number of nights they spent there increased even during the crisis partly because of the favourable geographical location of the region, partly because of the intensive cooperation schemes implemented in the tourism sector, and partly because of organised marketing campaigns.

  8. Novel effects-based monitoring approaches to evaluate chemicals of emerging concern in Great Lakes areas of concern

    Science.gov (United States)

    As part of an on-going program of research in support of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, we have been developing effects-based biomonitoring tools to evaluate the occurrence and potential hazards associated with Chemicals of Emerging Concern (CECs). Over three field seaso...

  9. Economic suicides in the Great Recession in Europe and North America.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reeves, Aaron; McKee, Martin; Stuckler, David

    2014-09-01

    There has been a substantial rise in 'economic suicides' in the Great Recessions afflicting Europe and North America. We estimate that the Great Recession is associated with at least 10 000 additional economic suicides between 2008 and 2010. A critical question for policy and psychiatric practice is whether these suicide rises are inevitable. Marked cross-national variations in suicides in the recession offer one clue that they are potentially avoidable. Job loss, debt and foreclosure increase risks of suicidal thinking. A range of interventions, from upstream return-to-work programmes through to antidepressant prescriptions may help mitigate suicide risk during economic downturn. Royal College of Psychiatrists.

  10. Mapping ecosystem service indicators in a Great Lakes estuarine Area of Concern

    Science.gov (United States)

    Estuaries provide multiple ecosystem services from which humans benefit. Currently, thirty-six Great Lakes estuaries in the United States and Canada are designated as Areas of Concern (AOCs) due to a legacy of chemical contamination, degraded habitat, and non-point-source polluti...

  11. Economic Conditions of Young Adults Before and After the Great Recession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sironi, Maria

    2018-01-01

    Transition to adulthood has undoubtedly changed in the last few decades. For youth today, an important marker of adulthood is self-actualization in their professional career, and, consequently, also the achievement of stable financial conditions. Economic conditions of youth are greatly subject to fluctuations in the economy, and the subsequent governmental response. Using the Luxembourg Income Study, this work investigates the trends in income from work of young adults before and after the Great Recession of 2008 in five countries-US, UK, Norway, Germany, and Spain. The findings showed deterioration in economic conditions of young men, but with differences across countries. Young women suffered less from the crisis, and in some countries, their economic situation improved. The general negative trend was especially pronounced for those with high education, which is primarily because they stayed in education longer.

  12. Socioeconomic Variation in the Effect of Economic Conditions on Marriage and Nonmarital Fertility in the United States: Evidence From the Great Recession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Daniel; Hastings, Orestes P

    2015-12-01

    The United States has become increasingly characterized by stark class divides in family structure. Poor women are less likely to marry than their more affluent counterparts but are far more likely to have a birth outside of marriage. Recent theoretical and qualitative work at the intersection of demography and cultural sociology suggests that these patterns are generated because poor women have high, nearly unattainable, economic standards for marriage but make a much weaker connection between economic standing and fertility decisions. We use the events of the Great Recession, leveraging variation in the severity of the crisis between years and across states, to examine how exposure to worse state-level economic conditions is related to poor women's likelihood of marriage and of having a nonmarital birth between 2008 and 2012. In accord with theory, we find that women of low socioeconomic status (SES) exposed to worse economic conditions are indeed somewhat less likely to marry. However, we also find that unmarried low-SES women exposed to worse economic conditions significantly reduce their fertility; economic standing is not disconnected from nonmarital fertility. Our results suggest that economic concerns were connected to fertility decisions for low-SES unmarried women during the Great Recession.

  13. Systems approach to detect and evaluate contaminants of emerging concern in the Great Lakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    The release of chemicals of emerging concern threatens near shore health in the Great Lakes, particularly in regions already suffering from degradation of water and environmental quality due to past and present anthropogenic activities. Critical issues remain in delisting Areas ...

  14. Economic Mobility and the American Dream: Examining Educational Differences. Economic Mobility Project Fact Sheet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Economic Mobility Project, 2012

    2012-01-01

    In March 2011, the Economic Mobility Project updated its 2009 national poll to reassess public perceptions of economic mobility and the American Dream in the wake of the Great Recession. Americans with the least education were the most concerned about their current economic situation and future prospects. This reinforces the 2009 and 2011 polls'…

  15. Economic performance and public concerns about social class in twentieth-century books.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yunsong; Yan, Fei

    2016-09-01

    What is the association between macroeconomic conditions and public perceptions of social class? Applying a novel approach based on the Google Books N-gram corpus, this study addresses the relationship between public concerns about social class and economic conditions throughout the twentieth century. The usage of class-related words/phrases, or "literary references to class," in American English-language books is related to US economic performance and income inequality. The findings of this study demonstrate that economic conditions play a significant role in literary references to class throughout the century, whereas income inequality does not. Similar results are obtained from further analyses using alternative measures of class concerns as well as different corpora of English Fiction and the New York Times. We add to the social class literature by showing that the long-term temporal dynamics of an economy can be exhibited by aggregate class concerns. The application of massive culture-wide content analysis using data of unprecedented size also represents a contribution to the literature. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Economic impact and market analysis of a special event: The Great New England Air Show

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodney B. Warnick; David C. Bojanic; Atul Sheel; Apurv Mather; Deepak Ninan

    2010-01-01

    We conducted a post-event evaluation for the Great New England Air Show to assess its general economic impact and to refine economic estimates where possible. In addition to the standard economic impact variables, we examined travel distance, purchase decision involvement, event satisfaction, and frequency of attendance. Graphic mapping of event visitors' home ZIP...

  17. Great Basin wildlife disease concerns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russ Mason

    2008-01-01

    In the Great Basin, wildlife diseases have always represented a significant challenge to wildlife managers, agricultural production, and human health and safety. One of the first priorities of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Division of Fish and Wildlife Services was Congressionally directed action to eradicate vectors for zoonotic disease, particularly rabies, in...

  18. Impacts of nuclear and hydroelectric great projects: economical, technological, environmental and social aspects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosa, L.P.; Sigaud, L.; Mielnik, O.

    1988-01-01

    Some studies about the Great Impacts of Energy Sources, mainly nuclear power plant and hydroelectric power plant, in Brazil are presented. The technological, economical, social and environmental aspects are described [pt

  19. Regional economic integration in Great East Asia: determinants and barriers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Volodymyr Korol

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The article studies both general trends and peculiar characteristics of processes of economic integration in the Great East Asia, which plays the role of one of the major centers of contemporary global development. The basic determinants and barriers for implementation of regional strategies by China, Japan, ASEAN that will influence the geo-economic policy of Ukraine not only in East Asian, but also European and Eurasian areas. Attention is focused on the basic principles of realized and potential future integration models in the "ASEAN+" format with variable composition of member states that correspond to different extents to strategic objectives of both specified key actors in the region and extra-regional states that have global and transnational interests. Extrapolation of dominant trends in the nature and dynamics of transformation processes of East Asian economic regionalization allowed forming a forecast for the longterm conservation of importance of free trade agreements in the absence of preconditions to create customs unions. At the same time it was stressed out that proper assurance of national interests of international economic relations will be based on contractual instruments at the international level, without creating institutional and legal superstructure similar to the European Union or the Eurasian Economic Union as supranational law and supranational bodies.

  20. Why Did People Move During the Great Recession? The Role of Economics in Migration Decisions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brian L. Levy

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Labor migration offers an important mechanism to reallocate workers when there are regional differences in employment conditions. Whereas conventional wisdom suggests migration rates should increase during recessions as workers move out of areas that are hit hardest, initial evidence suggested that overall migration rates declined during the Great Recession, despite large regional differences in unemployment and growth rates. In this paper we use data from the American Community Survey to analyze internal migration trends before and during the economic downturn. First, we find only a modest decline in the odds of adults leaving distressed labor market areas during the Great Recession, which may result in part from challenges related to the housing price crash. Second, we estimate conditional logit models of destination choice for individuals who migrate across labor market areas; we find a substantial effect of economic factors such as labor demand, unemployment, and housing values. We also estimate latent class conditional logit models that test whether there is heterogeneity in preferences for destination characteristics among migrants. Over all, the latent class models suggest that roughly equal percentages of migrants were motivated by economic factors before and during the Great Recession. We conclude that fears of dramatic declines in labor migration seem to be unsubstantiated.

  1. Concerns in Water Supply and Pollution Control: Legal, Social, and Economic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burke, D. Barlow, Jr.; And Others

    This bulletin contains three articles which focus on ground water's potential as a dependable supply source and some of the problems impeding the development of that potential. The authors' concerns are discussed from the vantage point of their areas of specialization: law, sociology, and economics. The first author states that water law abounds…

  2. Deciding to Wait: Partnership Status, Economic Conditions, and Pregnancy during the Great Recession

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christine Percheski

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The Great Recession was associated with reduced fertility in the United States. Many questions about the dynamics underlying this reduction remain unanswered, however, including whether reduced fertility rates were driven by decreases in intended or unplanned pregnancies. Using restricted data from the 2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth (N = 4,630, we exploit variation in state economic indicators to assess the impact of economic conditions on the likelihood of an intended pregnancy, an unplanned pregnancy, or no pregnancy for adult women without a college education. We focus on variations by partnership and marital status. Overall, we find that worse economic conditions were predictive of a lower risk of unplanned pregnancy. Women's odds of intended pregnancy did not, however, respond uniformly to economic conditions but varied by marital status. When economic conditions were poor, married women had lower odds of intended pregnancy, whereas cohabiting women had greater odds of intended pregnancy.

  3. Total, technical, economic and social evaluation of a plan for defense of the vineyard according to the methodology of the "GREAT CHAIN".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spera, G; Cargnello, G; Moretti, S; Pezza, L

    2004-01-01

    In another work, proposed in this congress, we have presented the basic methodology of the "GREAT CHAIN" in which a plan of fight to vine diseases is evaluated in the globality using 54 variables, to which a weight (in %) in a scale of priority at technical, economic, social and ethical level has been given. This basic methodology has been favourably accepted at the XIII GESCO Congress (Groupe International Systèmes De Conduite de la Vigne)--February 2003 in Montevideo (Uruguay), and at the congress on "Paysages de Vignes et de Vins" in Fonteyraud (Val de Loire) (Carbonneau, Cargnello, 2003). In this work the results of researches on the total, technical, economic, social and ethical evaluation of a conventional phytopathologic defence plan led in a vineyard of the Latium according to the method of the "GREAT CHAIN" are exposed. These researches have shown that the model of conventional phytopathologic struggle, applied in the Latium, against pests of vine positively answers for how much concerns the plants protection: the answer is good at enterprise level, but negative for all that is defence and safeguard for man and environment, in the widest sense of the term. The researches have gone on the phytopathologic defence of biological and eco-compatible vineyards with very encouraging results.

  4. Immigration to the Great Plains, 1865-1914: War, Politics, Technology, and Economic Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garver, Bruce

    2011-01-01

    The advent and vast extent of immigration to the Great Plains states during the years 1865 to 1914 is perhaps best understood in light of the new international context that emerged during the 1860s in the aftermath of six large wars whose consequences included the enlargement of civil liberties, an acceleration of economic growth and technological…

  5. Family ties and economic stability concerns of migrant labour families in Jordan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamiar, M S; Ismail, H F

    1991-12-01

    74 labor migrant families from various socioeconomic classes in Amman, Jordan were interviewed to examine changes in relationships among family members, extended family, and neighbors and their concerns about economic stability in the host country, Jordan, and the world market. Another purpose was to determine how current migration policies of the Arab oil-producing countries which prohibit labor migrants from bringing their families to the host country affect labor migration among families. The families consisted of either those who did or did not accompany the labor migrant. Overall labor migration affected unaccompanied families more than accompanied families, e.g., only 19% of the unaccompanied families reported increased family unity compared with 56% of accompanied families. Problems within unaccompanied families increased in 43% of the cases but in only 6% of the accompanied families. Many of these problems resulted in children dropping out of school which reflected the control fathers had within the family, separation, or divorce. Yet labor migration reduced family ties with extended family members and neighbors almost equally for both groups. Accompanied families were not as concerned about economic stability in Jordan as unaccompanied families (38% vs. 50%). Perhaps these families tended not to invest remittances received from the labor migrants working in Arab oil-producing countries in Jordan. Both groups were quite concerned about the economic stability in the host countries (66% and 72%, respectively) and the world market (59% and 62%, respectively), however. Since family unity suffers when families do not accompany labor migrants, it is suggested that oil-producing nations that depend on foreign labor should guarantee family unity as a human right.

  6. The fertility response to the Great Recession in Europe and the United States: Structural economic conditions and perceived economic uncertainty

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chiara Ludovica Comolli

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Background: This study further develops Goldstein et al.'s (2013 analysis of the fertility response to the Great Recession in western economies. Objective: The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the fertility reaction to different indicators of the crisis. Beyond the structural labor market conditions, I investigate the dependence of fertility rates on economic policy uncertainty, government financial risk, and consumer confidence. Methods: Following Goldstein et al. (2013, I use log-log models to assess the elasticity of age-, parity-, and education-specific fertility rates to an array of indicators. Besides the inclusion of a wider set of explanatory variables, I include more recent data (2000−2013 and I enlarge the sample to 31 European countries plus the United States. Results: Fertility response to unemployment in some age- and parity-specific groups has been, in more recent years, larger than estimated by Goldstein et al. (2013. Female unemployment has also been significantly reducing fertility rates. Among uncertainty measures, the drop in consumer confidence is strongly related to fertility decline and in Southern European countries the fertility response to sovereign debt risk is comparable to that of unemployment. Economic policy uncertainty is negatively related to TFR even when controlling for unemployment. Conclusions: Theoretical and empirical investigation is needed to develop more tailored measures of economic and financial insecurity and their impact on birth rates. Contribution: The study shows the nonnegligible influence of economic and financial uncertainty on birth rates during the Great Recession in Western economies, over and above that of structural labor market conditions.

  7. Competitiveness in the global economic crisis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gheorghe Popescu

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available The first challenge is to analyze the concept of "competitiveness" given the fact that in the centre of the great economic analystes' concerns lays from some time the phenomenon of competitiveness, along with the generation of competitive advantage at the organization level and, moreover, at country level. The economic science will have to be rethought, meaning that competitiveness will have to adapt to the new prospects launched today by the global economic crisis.

  8. What risks are Chinese people concerned about?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Xiaofei; Wang, Mei; Xu, Liancang

    2003-08-01

    The aim of this study is to investigate public perceived risk on various issues in present-day China. Two surveys were conducted in urban China in 1996 and 1998. In the first survey, risk perceptions of different occupational groups are compared. Gender differences within each occupational group are also analyzed. In the second survey, participants with diverse employment status were recruited. The overall risk rankings of both surveys indicate great concern with risks that threaten national stability and economic development, and less concern with high-technology risk such as threat from a nuclear power plant. It is also found that employees from high-profit firms are more concerned about macroscopic catastrophic risks, whereas laid-off workers and employees from money-losing enterprises are more concerned about daily life or self-concerned risks. The importance of actual exposure to risk, mass media coverage, culture, and psychometric dimensions are discussed.

  9. American undergraduate students' value development during the Great Recession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Heejung; Twenge, Jean M; Greenfield, Patricia M

    2017-02-01

    The Great Recession's influence on American undergraduate students' values was examined, testing Greenfield's and Kasser's theories concerning value development during economic downturns. Study 1 utilised aggregate-level data to investigate (a) population-level value changes between the pre-recession (2004-2006: n = 824,603) and recession freshman cohort (2008-2010: n = 662,262) and (b) overall associations of population-level values with national economic climates over long-term periods by correlating unemployment rates and concurrent aggregate-level values across 1966-2015 (n = 10 million). Study 2 examined individual-level longitudinal value development from freshman to senior year, and whether the developmental trajectories differed between those who completed undergraduate education before the Great Recession (freshmen in 2002, n = 12,792) versus those who encountered the Great Recession during undergraduate years (freshmen in 2006, n = 13,358). Results suggest American undergraduate students' increased communitarianism (supporting Greenfield) and materialism (supporting Kasser) during the Great Recession. The recession also appears to have slowed university students' development of positive self-views. Results contribute to the limited literature on the Great Recession's influence on young people's values. They also offer theoretical and practical implications, as values of this privileged group of young adults are important shapers of societal values, decisions, and policies. © 2016 International Union of Psychological Science.

  10. Integrating social justice concerns into economic evaluation for healthcare and public health: A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dukhanin, Vadim; Searle, Alexandra; Zwerling, Alice; Dowdy, David W; Taylor, Holly A; Merritt, Maria W

    2018-02-01

    Social justice is the moral imperative to avoid and remediate unfair distributions of societal disadvantage. In priority setting in healthcare and public health, social justice reaches beyond fairness in the distribution of health outcomes and economic impacts to encompass fairness in the distribution of policy impacts upon other dimensions of well-being. There is an emerging awareness of the need for economic evaluation to integrate all such concerns. We performed a systematic review (1) to describe methodological solutions suitable for integrating social justice concerns into economic evaluation, and (2) to describe the challenges that those solutions face. To be included, publications must have captured fairness considerations that (a) involve cross-dimensional subjective personal life experience and (b) can be manifested at the level of subpopulations. We identified relevant publications using an electronic search in EMBASE, PubMed, EconLit, PsycInfo, Philosopher's Index, and Scopus, including publications available in English in the past 20 years. Two reviewers independently appraised candidate publications, extracted data, and synthesized findings in narrative form. Out of 2388 publications reviewed, 26 were included. Solutions sought either to incorporate relevant fairness considerations directly into economic evaluation or to report them alongside cost-effectiveness measures. The majority of reviewed solutions, if adapted to integrate social justice concerns, would require their explicit quantification. Four broad challenges related to the implementation of these solutions were identified: clarifying the normative basis; measuring and determining the relative importance of criteria representing that basis; combining the criteria; and evaluating trade-offs. All included solutions must grapple with an inherent tension: they must either face the normative and operational challenges of quantifying social justice concerns or accede to offering incomplete policy

  11. Contaminants of emerging concern presence and adverse effects in fish: A case study in the Laurentian Great Lakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jorgenson, Zachary G.; Thomas, Linnea M.; Elliott, Sarah M.; Cavallin, Jenna E.; Randolph, Eric C.; Choy, Steven J.; Alvarez, David; Banda, Jo A.; Gefell, Daniel J.; Lee, Kathy E.; Furlong, Edward T.; Schoenfuss, Heiko L.

    2018-01-01

    The Laurentian Great Lakes are a valuable natural resource that is affected by contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), including sex steroid hormones, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, and new generation pesticides. However, little is known about the fate and biological effects of CECs in tributaries to the Great Lakes. In the current study, 16 sites on three rivers in the Great Lakes basin (Fox, Cuyahoga, and Raquette Rivers) were assessed for CEC presence using polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) and grab water samplers. Biological activity was assessed through a combination of in vitro bioassays (focused on estrogenic activity) and in vivo assays with larval fathead minnows. In addition, resident sunfish, largemouth bass, and white suckers were assessed for changes in

  12. MODELING ECONOMIC AND ECOLOGICAL BENEFITS OF POST-FIRE REVEGETATION IN THE GREAT BASIN

    OpenAIRE

    Niell, Rebecca; Englin, Jeffrey E.; Nalle, Darek

    2004-01-01

    This study employs a Markov chain model of vegetation dynamics to examine the economic and ecological benefits of post-fire revegetation in the Great Basin sagebrush steppe. The analysis is important because synergies between wildland fire and invasive weeds in this ecosystem are likely to result in the loss of native biodiversity, less predictable forage availability for livestock and wildlife, reduced watershed stability and water quality, and increased costs and risk associated with firefi...

  13. Chemicals of emerging concern in the Great Lakes Basin: an analysis of environmental exposures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klecka, Gary; Persoon, Carolyn; Currie, Rebecca

    2010-01-01

    This review and statistical analysis was conducted to better understand the nature and significance of environmental exposures in the Great Lakes Basin and watershed to a variety of environmental contaminants. These contaminants of interest included current-use pesticides, pharmaceuticals, organic wastewater contaminants, alkylphenol ethoxylates, perfluorinated surfactants, flame retardants, and chlorinated paraffins. The available literature was critically reviewed and used to develop a database containing 19,611 residue values for 326 substances. In many papers, sampling locations were characterized as being downstream from municipal wastewater discharges, receiving waters for industrial facilities, areas susceptible to agricultural or urban contamination, or harbors and ports. To develop an initial assessment of their potential ecological significance, the contamination levels found were compared with currently available regulatory standards, guidelines, or criteria. This review was prepared for the IJC multi-board work group, and served as background material for an expert consultation, held in March, 2009, in which the significance of the contaminants found was discussed. Moreover, the consultation attempted to identify and assess opportunities for strengthening future actions that will protect the Great Lakes. Based on the findings and conclusions of the expert consultation, it is apparent that a wide variety of chemicals of emerging concern have been detected in environmental media (air, water, sediment, biota) from the Great Lakes Basin, although many are present at only trace levels. Although the presence of these contaminants raises concerns in the public and among the scientific community, the findings must be placed in context. Significant scientific interpretation is required to understand the extent to which these chemicals may pose a threat to the ecosystem and to human health. The ability to detect chemicals in environmental media greatly surpasses

  14. Linking economic water use, freshwater ecosystem impacts, and virtual water trade in a Great Lakes watershed

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mubako, S. T.; Ruddell, B. L.; Mayer, A. S.

    2013-12-01

    The impact of human water uses and economic pressures on freshwater ecosystems is of growing interest for water resource management worldwide. This case study for a water-rich watershed in the Great Lakes region links the economic pressures on water resources as revealed by virtual water trade balances to the nature of the economic water use and the associated impacts on the freshwater ecosystem. A water accounting framework that combines water consumption data and economic data from input output tables is applied to quantify localized virtual water imports and exports in the Kalamazoo watershed which comprises ten counties. Water using economic activities at the county level are conformed to watershed boundaries through land use-water use relationships. The counties are part of a region implementing the Michigan Water Withdrawal Assessment Process, including new regulatory approaches for adaptive water resources management under a riparian water rights framework. The results show that at local level, there exists considerable water use intensity and virtual water trade balance disparity among the counties and between water use sectors in this watershed. The watershed is a net virtual water importer, with some counties outsourcing nearly half of their water resource impacts, and some outsourcing nearly all water resource impacts. The largest virtual water imports are associated with agriculture, thermoelectric power generation and industry, while the bulk of the exports are associated with thermoelectric power generation and commercial activities. The methodology is applicable to various spatial levels ranging from the micro sub-watershed level to the macro Great Lakes watershed region, subject to the availability of reliable water use and economic data.

  15. Environmentally relevant chemical mixtures of concern in waters of United States tributaries to the Great Lakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elliott, Sarah M.; Brigham, Mark E.; Kiesling, Richard L.; Schoenfuss, Heiko L.; Jorgenson, Zachary G.

    2018-01-01

    The North American Great Lakes are a vital natural resource that provide fish and wildlife habitat, as well as drinking water and waste assimilation services for millions of people. Tributaries to the Great Lakes receive chemical inputs from various point and nonpoint sources, and thus are expected to have complex mixtures of chemicals. However, our understanding of the co‐occurrence of specific chemicals in complex mixtures is limited. To better understand the occurrence of specific chemical mixtures in the US Great Lakes Basin, surface water from 24 US tributaries to the Laurentian Great Lakes was collected and analyzed for diverse suites of organic chemicals, primarily focused on chemicals of concern (e.g., pharmaceuticals, personal care products, fragrances). A total of 181 samples and 21 chemical classes were assessed for mixture compositions. Basin wide, 1664 mixtures occurred in at least 25% of sites. The most complex mixtures identified comprised 9 chemical classes and occurred in 58% of sampled tributaries. Pharmaceuticals typically occurred in complex mixtures, reflecting pharmaceutical‐use patterns and wastewater facility outfall influences. Fewer mixtures were identified at lake or lake‐influenced sites than at riverine sites. As mixture complexity increased, the probability of a specific mixture occurring more often than by chance greatly increased, highlighting the importance of understanding source contributions to the environment. This empirically based analysis of mixture composition and occurrence may be used to focus future sampling efforts or mixture toxicity assessments. 

  16. Brazilian economic performance since the emergence of the great recession: The effects of income distribution on consumption

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arestis Philip

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available After a long period of unstable and low economic activity, Brazil achieved a relatively high economic growth with low inflation from 2004 to 2008, when the world scenario was favourable for the Brazilian trade balance. An incomes policy, focused on real increases in the minimum wage along with a credit boom, led to a decade of high consumption growth rates. High levels of consumption and exports, in turn, induced investment and stimulated manufacturing production, despite the real appreciation of the national currency. However, the Great Recession that emerged after the global financial crisis of 2007/2008 brought challenges to the Brazilian economic performance, with unpleasant consequences for the country’s GDP growth. Consumption, investment and exports have decelerated, despite anti-cyclical macroeconomic policies. In this setting, manufacturing production stagnated and GDP growth slowed down substantially, while imports continued rising considerably. The aim of this paper is to provide an explanation to the slowdown of Brazilian growth rates after the Great Recession. The main hypothesis is that consumption was the main source of effective demand in the country since 2003. However, Brazil has not yet been able to sustain manufacturing and economic growth without a more active government policy to stimulate productive investment.

  17. Economic feasibility of sail power devices on Great Lakes bulk carriers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1982-03-24

    Progress is reported in a project to determine whether retro-fitting existing Great Lakes bulk carriers with auxiliary sail powering devices is economically feasible. The approach being used is to apply known technology both in terms of sail devices and calculation methods to determine the amount of fuel that can be saved and the probable cost of the sail device. Progress includes the identification and collection of data needed to determine the state of the art as well as to model the problem. Several sail powering devices were compared and an unstayed cat rig was chosen for further analysis and its performance characteristics were incorporated into a computer model, which is flow charted. (LEW)

  18. Keeping "Every Catholic Child in a Catholic School" during the Great Depression, 1933-1939

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryan, Ann Marie

    2007-01-01

    The quest for state and federal aid for Catholic schools is not new. Concerns regarding excessive entanglement, mission dilution, and external control have been voiced for decades. A particularly instructive historical period on this issue is the era of the Great Depression. Because of widespread economic hardship across sectors, Catholic leaders…

  19. THE PROGRESS OF ECONOMIC THOUGHTFULNESS CONCERNING THE SERVICES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    CIOBAN Gabriela-Liliana

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Many interpretations of the services concept and the concerns related to other configurations in the field have determined the occurrence of vast and various literatures, provided by studies, analysis and research of some of the coryphaeus of the economic world, carried out during almost three centuries. Each of them has had its own significance and individuality, always deriving from the uppermost economic doctrine, but from the crystallization of new points of view and study directions. The variety of definitions issued by the representatives of the services theories consists in the result of heterogeneous activities that are included within the services class, as well as those many notions of the service term used in the current discourse. Basing upon the invoked issues, as regards the structure of services, one can see that the difficulty of evaluating services can be found within the presence of the following characteristics: the intangibility, the inseparability, variety of services, the outage or the lack of property. The situation can be corrected by means of some dominant attributes attached to services: sending some proofs credible to consumers; tangibility of services; using palpable indications and using the personal sources of information; carrying out the standardization of services, customization and automation of services.The conventional formula of promoting the services has recommended the investments in human capital and within the business infrastructure, as factors of stimulating the economic growth. The challenges of modern times have confirmed the risk taking carried out by the undertakers when implement the “Schumpeterian type“ innovation within the services sector, as well as the need of new investments in their fields of activity, development and customization. One supports the idea according to which the unprecedented growth and diversification of services, the shape of useful effects resulted within the services

  20. The economics of dentistry: a neglected concern.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shariati, Batoul; MacEntee, Michael I; Yazdizadeh, Maryam

    2013-10-01

    Demand for economic evaluations in health care is growing with expectations that they will help to develop regional and national policies on health and social programmes. We present here the scope, quality and content of systematic reviews and meta-analyses relating to the economics of dentistry published over the last 15 years. To review the quality and outcome of systematic reviews and meta-analyses relating to the economics of dental treatments, preventions and services. A systematic search was conducted in 14 electronic databases for systematic reviews and meta-analyses published between January 1997 and July 2011 on the economics of oral disorders and oral health care. Review papers were extracted by two independent investigators to identify the characteristics, results and quality of the reviews and to highlight gaps in knowledge about the economics of dentistry. From 3150 unique references, we found 73 systematic reviews or meta-analyses of dental economics as primary or secondary outcomes. The focus of 12 of them was on the cost or cost-effectiveness of dental prevention, 54 on treatment, five on prevention and treatment and two on delivery of dental services. However, only 12 of the systematic reviews drew conclusions from economic data, and four of them constructed an economic model from synthesized data. Overall, the quality was good in the 12 systematic reviews but poor in the original studies. There is very little helpful data published on the economics of dentistry. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Concern over radiation exposure and psychological distress among rescue workers following the Great East Japan Earthquake

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matsuoka Yutaka

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami that followed caused severe damage along Japans northeastern coastline and to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. To date, there are few reports specifically examining psychological distress in rescue workers in Japan. Moreover, it is unclear to what extent concern over radiation exposure has caused psychological distress to such workers deployed in the disaster area. Methods One month after the disaster, 424 of 1816 (24% disaster medical assistance team workers deployed to the disaster area were assessed. Concern over radiation exposure was evaluated by a single self-reported question. General psychological distress was assessed with the Kessler 6 scale (K6, depressive symptoms with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D, fear and sense of helplessness with the Peritraumatic Distress Inventory (PDI, and posttraumatic stress symptoms with the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R. Results Radiation exposure was a concern for 39 (9.2% respondents. Concern over radiation exposure was significantly associated with higher scores on the K6, CES-D, PDI, and IES-R. After controlling for age, occupation, disaster operation experience, duration of time spent watching earthquake news, and past history of psychiatric illness, these associations remained significant in men, but did not remain significant in women for the CES-D and PDI scores. Conclusion The findings suggest that concern over radiation exposure was strongly associated with psychological distress. Reliable, accurate information on radiation exposure might reduce deployment-related distress in disaster rescue workers.

  2. Contaminants of emerging concern in tributaries to the Laurentian Great Lakes: I. Patterns of occurrence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elliott, Sarah M.; Brigham, Mark E.; Lee, Kathy E.; Banda, Jo A.; Choy, Steven J.; Gefell, Daniel J.; Minarik, Thomas A.; Moore, Jeremy N.; Jorgenson, Zachary G.

    2017-01-01

    Human activities introduce a variety of chemicals to the Laurentian Great Lakes including pesticides, pharmaceuticals, flame retardants, plasticizers, and solvents (collectively referred to as contaminants of emerging concern or CECs) potentially threatening the vitality of these valuable ecosystems. We conducted a basin-wide study to identify the presence of CECs and other chemicals of interest in 12 U.S. tributaries to the Laurentian Great Lakes during 2013 and 2014. A total of 292 surface-water and 80 sediment samples were collected and analyzed for approximately 200 chemicals. A total of 32 and 28 chemicals were detected in at least 30% of water and sediment samples, respectively. Concentrations ranged from 0.0284 (indole) to 72.2 (cholesterol) μg/L in water and 1.75 (diphenhydramine) to 20,800 μg/kg (fluoranthene) in sediment. Cluster analyses revealed chemicals that frequently co-occurred such as pharmaceuticals and flame retardants at sites receiving similar inputs such as wastewater treatment plant effluent. Comparison of environmental concentrations to water and sediment-quality benchmarks revealed that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations often exceeded benchmarks in both water and sediment. Additionally, bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and dichlorvos concentrations exceeded water-quality benchmarks in several rivers. Results from this study can be used to understand organism exposure, prioritize river basins for future management efforts, and guide detailed assessments of factors influencing transport and fate of CECs in the Great Lakes Basin.

  3. Unveiling consumer's privacy paradox behaviour in an economic exchange.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Motiwalla, Luvai F; Li, Xiao-Bai

    2016-01-01

    Privacy paradox is of great interest to IS researchers and firms gathering personal information. It has been studied from social, behavioural, and economic perspectives independently. However, prior research has not examined the degrees of influence these perspectives contribute to the privacy paradox problem. We combine both economic and behavioural perspectives in our study of the privacy paradox with a price valuation of personal information through an economic experiment combined with a behavioural study on privacy paradox. Our goal is to reveal more insights on the privacy paradox through economic valuation on personal information. Results indicate that general privacy concerns or individual disclosure concerns do not have a significant influence on the price valuation of personal information. Instead, prior disclosure behaviour in specific scenario, like with healthcare providers or social networks, is a better indicator of consumer price valuations.

  4. Economic Efficiency of Selected Financial System Institutions of Local Government

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Urszula Rabiej

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Functioning of local government units, as for as the economic sphere is concerned, is based on the financial law regulations. Those regulations aim at solving economic and social problems. The analysis of economic efficiency concerning implemented regulations is of particular importance for changing the EU’s attitude towards the influence, which EU has on functioning of the local governments. Implementing the local budgets, based on regulations which economic efficiency hasn’t been evaluated on the stage of legislation, may have a negative impact on local community and the economic situation of the country. Frequent changes of financial law cause actions, which financial effects cannot be predicted. What is more, those unstable regulations make it impossible to plan essential parts of a budget in a right way. That has a great importance in terms of correctness of long-term financial perspectives of the local government units.

  5. Unveiling consumer’s privacy paradox behaviour in an economic exchange

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xiao-Bai

    2015-01-01

    Privacy paradox is of great interest to IS researchers and firms gathering personal information. It has been studied from social, behavioural, and economic perspectives independently. However, prior research has not examined the degrees of influence these perspectives contribute to the privacy paradox problem. We combine both economic and behavioural perspectives in our study of the privacy paradox with a price valuation of personal information through an economic experiment combined with a behavioural study on privacy paradox. Our goal is to reveal more insights on the privacy paradox through economic valuation on personal information. Results indicate that general privacy concerns or individual disclosure concerns do not have a significant influence on the price valuation of personal information. Instead, prior disclosure behaviour in specific scenario, like with healthcare providers or social networks, is a better indicator of consumer price valuations. PMID:27708687

  6. Economic Stressors and Psychological Distress: Exploring Age Cohort Variation in the Wake of the Great Recession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Robyn Lewis; Richman, Judith A; Rospenda, Kathleen M

    2017-08-01

    This study examined processes linking age cohort, economic stressors, coping strategies and two indicators of psychological distress (i.e. depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms). Structural equation models were conducted utilizing data from a national survey that was undertaken in order to understand life change consequences of the period of economic downturn from 2007 to 2009 known as the Great Recession. Findings revealed that the associations between economic stressors and symptoms of both depression and anxiety were significantly greater for members of the millennial cohort compared with baby boomers. These effects are partly explained by the greater tendency of members of the baby boomer cohort to use active coping strategies. These findings clarify the circumstances in which age matters most for the associations among economy-related stressors, coping strategies and psychological well-being. They highlight how difficult economic circumstances influence the availability of coping strategies and, in turn, psychological well-being-and differently for younger and older age cohorts. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  7. Case study of conservation and community concerns for present and future multiple use of the Great Australian Bight

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Flaherty, T. [Marine and Coastal Community Network, Henley Beach, SA (Australia)

    1996-12-31

    As part of the Australian National Strategy for ecologically sustainable development, State and Federal Governments have agreed to cooperate on action under the Ocean Rescue 2000 Program to develop a national representative system of Marine Protected Areas. As a component of this program an area of the Great Australian Bight has been the focus of a proposal for a large area multiple use marine park. Within the context of this workshop, however, the conservation and community considerations extend beyond this proposed area. There is a need for resolution of apparent and real conflict with conservation, fishing, tourism and mining objectives in the development of equitable policies in establishing a marine protected area for the significant region. In this paper current activities in the Great Australian Bight, conservation values and concerns, fisheries and conservation, and fisheries and potential conflict with future petroleum exploitation, are discussed. The marine animals of the area are outlined, and community conservation concerns are detailed. It is concluded that there is an increasing need for States to develop a strategic approach to marine management. The adoption of marine bio-regionalisation methodology to define areas of significant biodiversity, representative marine protected areas and the development of a marine conservation and management strategy can be seen as essential components in the management of the marine environment. (author). refs.

  8. What Lies beyond the Romania’s Economic Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monica Raileanu-Szeles

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyzes the dynamic of economic development in Romania, underlying the steps already made by Romania on the way of economic development, as well as the causes of theslowness of this long term process. Four dimensions of the economic development are particularly analyzed here, i.e. the GDP, health, education and income inequality, with a great emphasis on the per capita GDP dynamic. The paper also looks at two contemporary challenges of Romania with a considerable impact on economic development – the progress made in the process of EU funds absorption and the income polarization, which is at present a matter of concern for the whole EU. The components of Romania’s economic development are presented in comparison with those of the New Member States.Keywords: economic development, economic growth, Gini.

  9. The current economic and financial crisis: a gender perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Antonopoulos, Rania

    2009-01-01

    Widespread economic recessions and protracted financial crises have been documented as setting back gender equality and other development goals in the past. In the midst of the current global crisis--often referred to as "the Great Recession"--there is grave concern that progress made in poverty reduction and women's equality will be reversed. Indeed, for many developing countries it is particularly worrisome that, through no fault of their own, the global economic downturn has exacerbated ef...

  10. Addressing adherence to treatment: a longstanding concern. The patients’ perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Mahmoud Hadipour Dehshal

    2014-01-01

    Adherence to treatment is a great concern for patients who need long-life treatment. Thalassaemia is an inherited disease for whose treatment team-working is of a considerable importance. To logically face the problem of poor compliance patients, all members of the team ought to be aware of the causing factors and the ways to handle the problem. The factors which cause the lack of compliance among patients could be stratified into economic and structural facto. Furthermore, patient-related fa...

  11. Reproductive success and contaminant associations in tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) used to assess a beneficial use impairment in U.S. and Binational Great Lakes’ Areas of Concern

    Science.gov (United States)

    During 2010-2014, tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) reproductive success was monitored at 68 sites across all 5 Great Lakes, including 58 sites located within Great Lakes Areas of concern (AOCs) and 10 non-AOCs. Sample eggs were collected from tree swallow clutches and analyzed ...

  12. Widening socio-economic disparities in early childhood obesity in Los Angeles County after the Great Recession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nobari, Tabashir Z; Whaley, Shannon E; Crespi, Catherine M; Prelip, Michael L; Wang, May C

    2018-04-02

    While economic crises can increase socio-economic disparities in health, little is known about the impact of the 2008-09 Great Recession on obesity prevalence among children, especially low-income children. The present study examined whether socio-economic disparities in obesity among children of pre-school age participating in a federal nutrition assistance programme have changed since the recession. A pre-post observational study using administrative data of pre-school-aged programme participants from 2003 to 2014. Logistic regression was used to examine whether the relationship between obesity prevalence (BMI≥95th percentile of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's growth charts) and three measures of socio-economic status (household income, household educational attainment, neighbourhood-level median household income) changed after the recession by examining the interaction between each socio-economic status measure and a 5-year time-period variable (2003-07 v. 2010-14), stratified by child's age and adjusted for child's sociodemographic characteristics. Los Angeles County, California, USA. Children aged 2-4 years (n 1 637 788) participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. The magnitude of the association of household income and household education with obesity increased after 2008-09 among 3- and 4-year-olds and 2- and 3-year-olds, respectively. However, the magnitude of the association of neighbourhood-level median household income with obesity did not change after 2008-09. Disparities in obesity by household-level socio-economic status widened after the recession, while disparities by neighbourhood-level socio-economic status remained the same. The widening household-level socio-economic disparities suggest that obesity prevention efforts should target the most vulnerable low-income children.

  13. Energy and water in the Great Lakes.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tidwell, Vincent Carroll

    2011-11-01

    The nexus between thermoelectric power production and water use is not uniform across the U.S., but rather differs according to regional physiography, demography, power plant fleet composition, and the transmission network. That is, in some regions water demand for thermoelectric production is relatively small while in other regions it represents the dominate use. The later is the case for the Great Lakes region, which has important implications for the water resources and aquatic ecology of the Great Lakes watershed. This is today, but what about the future? Projected demographic trends, shifting lifestyles, and economic growth coupled with the threat of global climate change and mounting pressure for greater U.S. energy security could have profound effects on the region's energy future. Planning for such an uncertain future is further complicated by the fact that energy and environmental planning and regulatory decisionmaking is largely bifurcated in the region, with environmental and water resource concerns generally taken into account after new energy facilities and technologies have been proposed, or practices are already in place. Based on these confounding needs, the objective of this effort is to develop Great Lakes-specific methods and tools to integrate energy and water resource planning and thereby support the dual goals of smarter energy planning and development, and protection of Great Lakes water resources. Guiding policies for this planning are the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact and the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. The desired outcome of integrated energy-water-aquatic resource planning is a more sustainable regional energy mix for the Great Lakes basin ecosystem.

  14. Economic feasibility of sail power devices on Great Lakes bulk carriers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    1982-09-22

    Three ships were examined, the ED RYERSON, the ST. CLAIR, and the STEWART CORT to determine if retro-fitting these ships with a 3000 sq ft soft sail cat rig is economically feasible. By using existing weather data taken from recorded observations on Lake Michigan and Lake Superior and known performance characteristics of both the sailplan and hull, a computer program was written to model the problem. Three cases for each ship were estimated. The first was the average fuel savings, second was an optimistic estimate of fuel savings, and the third was a pessimistic estimate of fuel savings. Several considerations had to be taken into account that had serious consequences for the economic viability of the idea. One was the fact that all of the aforementioned ships have self unloading equipment that require about 80% of the deck space to be clear. This limited the choice of sailplans to one per ship. Another consideration is that due to bridge clearance problems an air draft of less than 125' was required. These two factors limited the size and efficiency of the sail plan. The third consideration is that due to the very tight shipping channels on the Great Lakes, there is no provision for altering course to take advantage of prevailing winds in order to maximize the usefulness of the sail device. The sail device on the ED RYERSON does not seem to be economically feasible. Even at the lowest interest rate investigated in this study (8%) the average annual cost improves only in the optimistic estimates. At 12% interest even this slight advantage disappears. The sail devices on the STEWART CORT and ST. CLAIR seem to be marginally feasible at low interest rates and the present cost of fuel. The STEWART CORT seems to benefit most from the fitting of a sail device. A modest increase in fuel prices, perhaps possible, will make both of these ships look substantially better.

  15. Contaminants of emerging concern in tributaries to the Laurentian Great Lakes: II. Biological consequences of exposure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Linnea M.; Jorgenson, Zachary G.; Brigham, Mark E.; Choy, Steven J.; Moore, Jeremy N.; Banda, Jo A.; Gefell, D.J.; Minarik, Thomas A.; Schoenfuss, Heiko L.

    2017-01-01

    The Laurentian Great Lakes contain one fifth of the world’s surface freshwater and have been impacted by human activity since the Industrial Revolution. In addition to legacy contaminants, nitrification and invasive species, this aquatic ecosystem is also the recipient of Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) with poorly understood biological consequences. In the current study, we documented the presence, concentrations, and biological effects of CECs across 27 field sites in six Great Lakes tributaries by examining over 2250 resident and caged sunfish (Lepomis ssp.) for a variety of morphological and physiological endpoints and related these results to CEC occurrence. CEC were ubiquitous across studies sites and their presence and concentrations in water and sediment were highest in effluent dominated rivers and downstream of municipal wastewater treatment plant discharges. However, even putative upstream reference sites were not free of CEC presence and fish at these sites exhibited biological effects consistent with CEC exposure. Only the Fox River exhibited consistent adverse biological effects, including increased relative liver size, greater prominence of hepatocyte vacuoles and increased plasma glucose concentrations. Canonical Redundancy Analysis revealed consistent patterns of biological consequences of CEC exposure across all six tributaries. Increasing plasma glucose concentrations, likely as a result of pollutant-induced metabolic stress, were associated with increased relative liver size and greater prominence of hepatocyte vacuoles. These indicators of pollutant exposure were inversely correlated with indicators of reproductive potential including smaller gonad size and less mature gametes. The current study highlights the need for greater integration of chemical and biological studies and suggests that CECs in the Laurentian Great Lakes Basin may adversely affect the reproductive potential of exposed fish populations.

  16. Cross-cultural variation in disease-related concerns among patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levenstein, S; Li, Z; Almer, S; Barbosa, A; Marquis, P; Moser, G; Sperber, A; Toner, B; Drossman, D A

    2001-06-01

    The aim of this work was to study cross-cultural variations in the impact of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) on health-related quality of life by an international comparison of disease-related concerns. Item and factor scores on the Rating Form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patient Concerns and overall mean concern levels were compared by analysis of variance among 2002 IBD patients in eight countries. The overall level of concern varied from 51 out of 100 in Portugal to 19 in Sweden, with intermediate scores for Italy (43), Canada (40), United States (39), France (39), Austria (33), and Israel (25). Having surgery, an ostomy, the uncertain nature of the disease, and medication side effects were each rated among the first five in importance in six countries. Other items varied considerably. For example, concern regarding pain and suffering was high in Israel and low in Portugal, whereas concern over developing cancer was low in Italy. Concern over financial issues and access to high-quality health care were inversely associated with measures of national economic prosperity. 1) Cross-cultural comparisons of patient concerns related to IBD are feasible using translated scales. 2) Reporting tendencies vary greatly; within Europe, patients from southern countries report greater overall concern. 3) The complications and the variable evolution of disease elicit general concern, but the importance of specific issues varies among countries. 4) The reasons for national differences may have social, cultural, and/or economic determinants with relevance to the patient-physician relationship, patient education, and therapeutic decision making.

  17. Understanding community traits - understanding public concerns

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wlodarczyk, T.

    2003-01-01

    No two communities are alike. Therefore, one should not expect that public concerns and socio-economic effects of a proposed undertaking would be the same everywhere. Public concerns and the potential for social and economic effects of nuclear waste management facilities in one community will be different from those in another because communities differ in their fundamental sociological and economic traits. Research and experience with various types of nuclear and hazardous waste management facilities, generating stations and other energy developments across Canada and the United States indicate that an analysis of only a few key community traits can yield a more thorough understanding of the ways in which a community might perceive and respond to a project, the kinds of concerns that might dominate the public agenda, and the types of socio-economic effects that will be of primary concern. (author)

  18. STIGLER’S INFLUENTIAL CONTRIBUTION TO ECONOMIC THOUGHT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Artidiatun Adji

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyzes George J. Stigler’s influential contributions to economic ideas, specifically on industrial structures, the functioning of markets, the causes and effects of public regulation, the economics of information, and on the development of economic thought. Stigler’s most influential contribution to economic thought came in his work on information theory. Treating information as a valuable commodity, he explained why prices differ for identical goods. From his work, many other theories have been built to explain economic behavior. A considerable number of works on decision making under uncertainty could not have progressed without an understanding of the role of information. His swing of the pendulum in economic regulation constitutes a great turnabout. He started research, known as public choice, which assumes that government policymakers are driven by self-interest rather than pure concern for the public’s welfare. His views have now become those of the mainstream.

  19. Why Did People Move During the Great Recession?: The Role of Economics in Migration Decisions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levy, Brian L; Mouw, Ted; Daniel Perez, Anthony

    2017-04-01

    Labor migration offers an important mechanism to reallocate workers when there are regional differences in employment conditions. Whereas conventional wisdom suggests migration rates should increase during recessions as workers move out of areas that are hit hardest, initial evidence suggested that overall migration rates declined during the Great Recession, despite large regional differences in unemployment and growth rates. In this paper, we use data from the American Community Survey to analyze internal migration trends before and during the economic downturn. First, we find only a modest decline in the odds of adults leaving distressed labor market areas during the recession, which may result in part from challenges related to the housing price crash. Second, we estimate conditional logit models of destination choice for individuals who migrate across labor market areas and find a substantial effect of economic factors such as labor demand, unemployment, and housing values. We also estimate latent class conditional logit models that test whether there is heterogeneity in preferences for destination characteristics among migrants. Over all, the latent class models suggest that roughly equal percentages of migrants were motivated by economic factors before and during the recession. We conclude that fears of dramatic declines in labor migration seem to be unsubstantiated.

  20. CHINESE INITIATIVE «ECONOMIC BELT OF THE GREAT SILK ROAD» AND THE PROBLEM OF ENERGY SECURITY IN EURASIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. M. Mastepanov

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Ensuring global energy security is one of the major systemic challenges facing the global energy sector. The article shows the role of Eurasia in the modern world, analyzes the peculiarities of understanding and interpretation of energy security challenges in its major regions and groups of countries. Shows the role of Russian-Chinese strategic partnership, the problems of implementation of three major projects on the continent - the Eurasian economic Union, Shanghai cooperation organization and the Chinese land of the project "Economic belt of the Great silk road" and their possible impact on energy security as Russia and China and all of Eurasia. Justified the principle of reasonable sufficiency diversification of energy supplies and energy markets.

  1. Positional Concerns and Institutions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Landes, Xavier

    2013-01-01

    that invoking envy or subjective well-being is not fully satisfying for regulating positional concerns. More compelling reasons seem, in complement with efficiency, to be related to considerations for equality. In other words, if institutions could have strong reasons to pay attention to and regulate positional...... their implications for economics, positional concerns imply important normative dimensions. There have been presumed to be a symptom of envy, reduce people’s happiness, and create problems of social interaction or economic inefficiencies. Individuals are, for instance, prone to pick states of the world that improve...... concerns, it would be in virtue of their impact on the social product and individuals’ conditions of living....

  2. HISTORICAL PARALLELS OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMIC DOCTRINES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Avtandil SILAGADZE

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Historical experience shows that problems of economic development in certain countries are linked to the rational use of economic resources. It is not accidental that this issue was of high importance as early as in the 19th century in Georgia. An outstanding Georgian writer Ilia Tchavtchavadze (1951-1961 and other researchers (see References dedicated interesting works to studying this problem. Like German national economic doctrines, Ilia Tchavtchavadze was much concerned with the priorities of national economy. Based on the research results, the present work provides conclusions that Ilia Tchavtchavadze’s economic doctrine complies with German as well as classic economic doctrines with the only difference that development of Georgian economy should start with the development of agriculture; complies with free trade policy; gives great importance to building railway network and Batumi-Baku pipeline, development of oil industry, co-existence of private and community ownership and inadmissibility of forceful infringement of such ownership; lays foundation to building of an independent banking system in Georgia.

  3. Socio-economic Impacts—Fisheries

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pinnegar, John K.; Engelhard, Georg H.; Jones, Miranda C.

    2016-01-01

    Fishers and scientists have known for over 100 years that the status of fish stocks can be greatly influenced by prevailing climatic conditions. Based on historical sea surface temperature data, the North Sea has been identified as one of 20 ‘hot spots’ of climate change globally and projections......—one of the most important fishing grounds in the world—as well as available projections for North Sea fisheries in the future. Discussion focuses on biological, operational and wider market concerns, as well as on possible economic consequences. It is clear that fish communities and the fisheries that target them...

  4. Mercury concentrations in fish from Canadian Great Lakes areas of concern: an analysis of data from the Canadian Department of Environment database

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weis, I.M.

    2004-01-01

    The tissue mercury concentrations in six species of fish collected at the 17 Areas of Concern identified by the International Joint Commission on the Canadian side of the Great Lakes were analyzed using an Environment Canada database. A linear increase in mercury concentration with fish length was found, but slopes differed among locations. The temporal pattern over the period 1971-1997 differed across species in fish collected in Lake St. Clair; in at least two species there was evidence of increased mercury concentration during the 1990s that had been suggested in an earlier analysis. Areas of Concern differed significantly in observed tissue concentrations. Differences observed did not consistently parallel expectations associated with the historical presence of chlor-alkali plants in the vicinities of some locations. An attempt to correlate the fish tissue mercury concentration with the frequency of occurrence of infantile cerebral palsy at Areas of Concern was unsuccessful

  5. THE EU, APEC AND ASEAN; A COMPARISON IN THE FRAMEWORK OF ECONOMIC INTEGRATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ismet ATES

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Fast developing technology, increased production and the search for market has paved the way for globalization after the industrial revolution. Transnational borders has almost disappeared today’s World which faced with two great wars and a lot more threat during the 20th century. Economic integrations gained speed after the two Great World Wars. Countries started to come together because of advancing technology, transportation facilities, security concerns and increased competition during this period. Thus, political, military and cultural integration movements established and also economic integration movements gained speed. Economic, political, military integrations like EU, APEC, ASEAN, NAFTA, WTO and NATO have showed impact in every region of the World. There are a lot of regional and global integration movements in the World. Globalization leads to act the World as if it had a single center increasingly. This case is important in terms of economic integration of the national economies. The main objective of economic integration is an effort to eliminate all barriers to trade. In this work, the structure of the economic integration process and its effect on the World economy will be examined. APEC, ASEAN and EU can be considered as one of the best samples of the economic integration in the World. General structures, macroeconomic performances and their effects on integration process of these three economic integrations will be discussed. As a result, APEC stands out with its developing large trade volume, ASEAN is noted with its great speed of economic development and, European Union differs with its large gross domestic product per capita. APEC, EU and ASEAN organizations show that both developed and developing countries can not remain outside of integration. Each of the three integration movement has been making great contributions to the World to integrate. World is almost becoming a single country thanks to the economic integration.

  6. An Integrated Approach for Identifying Priority Contaminant in the Great Lakes Basin –Investigations in the Lower Green Bay/Fox River and Milwaukee Estuary Areas of Concern

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Prioritization of chemicals was performed on two Areas of Concerns in the Great Lakes An integrated risk surveillance and monitoring approach was applied Bio-effect...

  7. Regulatory concern about economic deregulation in Finland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Virolainen, R.; Koutaniemi, P.

    2002-01-01

    The deregulation of the electricity market may cause an increased pressure to reduce the costs of electricity generation. This makes a new challenge to the regulatory body to assess the impact of these changes on the safety of nuclear power plants. Accordingly, it is important to identify the risks to the nuclear power industry resulting from the economic deregulation. This paper is to discuss the current situation in Finland with regard to the economic deregulation of the electricity market and the experiences so far. A common view today is that the number of electricity generating power companies will be reduced in Europe because of tough competition in the electricity market. It is expected that only the biggest companies can stand the consequences of tough competition in electricity prices and the consequential pressure to reduce costs. In order to review the impact of deregulation of the electricity market some relevant points have been discussed in this paper such as change of ownership of power companies due to the economic pressure, the need to cut costs of the companies by reducing the number of their activities and increasing the efficiency in the remaining activities and/or outsourcing of activities. The need to pursue reduction or delay of planned investments in safety upgrades are discussed as well. (author)

  8. Regulatory concern about economic deregulation in Finland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Virolainen, R.; Koutaniemi, P.

    2001-01-01

    The deregulation of the electricity market may cause an increased pressure to reduce the costs of electricity generation. This makes a new challenge to the regulatory body to assess the impact of these changes on the safety of nuclear power plants. Accordingly, it is important to identify the risks to the nuclear power industry resulting from the economic deregulation. This paper is to discuss the current situation in Finland with regard to the economic deregulation of the electricity market and the experiences so far. A common view today is that the number of electricity generating power companies will be reduced in Europe because of tough competition in the electricity market. It is expected that only the biggest companies can stand the consequences of tough competition in electricity prices and the consequential pressure to reduce costs. In order to review the impact of deregulation of the electricity market some relevant points have been discussed in this paper, such as change of ownership of power companies due to the economic pressure, the need to cut costs of the companies by reducing the number of their activities and increasing the efficiency in the remaining activities and/or outsourcing of activities. The need to pursue reduction or delay of planned investments in safety upgrades are discussed as well. (author)

  9. RESEARCHES CONCERNING THE ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY ACHIEVED SUCCESSIVE TO THE APPLICATION OF BIOLOGICALLY-ACTIVE PRODUCTS IN SMOOTH BROME CROP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ELENA PEł

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available Within any branch of material production, the supervision of the economic effects caused by the applied technologies is an essential requirement. Not only related to the productive activity, but also related to scientific research, designing and other fields of activity, the final goal is represented by the achievement of immediate or far off economic effects. The introduction and generalization into production of the newest technologies of forage production must rely upon calculations of economic efficiency, too. The objective of these calculations is to offer to any producer the possibility to choose among the optimal technologic variants, with great productions per surface unit, of high quality and low costs. The calculations of economic efficiency were carried out during the three years of experimentation. The economic efficiency obtained after the application of biostimulants in smooth brome during the first year of production is expressed through the achievement of a profit per surface unit of 75.85 – 127.00 €/ha. Successive to the calculations of economic efficiency, during the second year of production, the profit per surface unit recorded values between 79.10 – 153.10 €/ha depending upon the applied biostimulant, and during the third year of production the profit obtained per surface unit was 211.05 – 270.70 €/ha.

  10. Socio-Economic Concerns and Essential Elements in Estuary Management Strategies; Haliç Case, Istanbul

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alpar, Bedri; Isil Cetin, Basak

    2016-04-01

    Estuaries are transitional areas between the land and sea and home to a large and growing proportion of the world's population. They are highly productive ecosystems which create jobs, and boosts local economic growth with a higher percentage of collective and private enterprises and a larger share of production. They serve many important socio-economic functions and therefore receive untreated urban wastes and riverine inputs and concentrate various pollutants coming from inland domestic, agricultural and industrial activities. Therefore such kinds of complex systems are highly vulnerable because they are usually the sink for the hinterlands. Due to serious environmental problems felt more intensively day by day, central and local governments must adopt an integrated policy and decision making process to promote a balance of uses. As surrounded by many historical attractions, heritage sites, buzzing cultural scenes and other natural resources, the Haliç (the Golden Horn estuary) offers great opportunities and has a vitality fed by widespread economic and cultural factors. The typical landscape of the estuary, its bridges, geomorphic features, oceanographic and hydrodynamic features of its waters, sea bottom characteristics, environmental pollution, make this estuary a critical marine environment which impacts to economy, environment and community. However, rapid urban growth and uncontrolled industrial development (1950-1985) led to a severe increase in pollution levels of its water and cohesive sediments. The siltation due to liquid and solid waste dumped by two streams caused anaerobic decomposition problems. In addition, the ecological processes occurring in the Haliç are rather complex as they are interacted with the socio-economic system. This study focuses on the essential elements of integrated coastal zone management for the Haliç, and its probable impacts to economy, environment and community. All objectives and probable impacts need to be integrated

  11. Status Concern and Relative Deprivation in China: Measures, Empirical Evidence and Economic and Policy Implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xi, CHEN

    2017-01-01

    Status concern and feelings of relative deprivation affect individual behaviour and well-being. Traditional norms and the alarming inequality in China have made relative deprivation increasingly intense for the Chinese population. This article reviews empirical literature on China that attempts to test the relative deprivation hypothesis, and also reviews the origins and pathways of relative deprivation, compares its economic measures in the literature and summarises the scientific findings. Drawing from solid empirical evidence, the author discusses the important policy implications on redistribution, official regulations and grassroots sanctions, and relative poverty alleviation. PMID:29033479

  12. Recensie "The Great Reset" : Richard Florida

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Roy van Dalm

    2010-01-01

    Like the Great Depression and the Long Depression before it, experts have viewed prolonged economic downturns as crises. In The Great Reset , bestselling author Richard Florida argues that we should instead see the recent recession as an opportunity to create entirely new ways of working and living

  13. Reuse of assembly systems: a great ecological and economical potential for facility suppliers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weule, Hartmut; Buchholz, Carsten

    2001-02-01

    In addition to the consumer goods, capital goods offer a great potential for ecological and economic optimization. In view of this fact the project WiMonDi (Re-Use of Assembly Systems as new Business Fields), started in September 1998, focuses a marketable Remanufacturing and Re-Use of modules and components of assembly systems by using technically and organizationally continuous concepts. The objective of the closed Facility-Management-System is to prolong the serviceable lifespan of assembly facilities through the organized dismantling, refurbishment and reconditioning of the assembly facilities as well as their components. Therefore, it is necessary to develop easible and methodical strategies to realize a workable Re-Use concept. Within the project the focus is based on the optimization of Re-Use-strategies - the direct Re-Use, the Re-Use including Refurbishment as well as Material Recycling. The decision for an optimal strategy depends on economical (e.g. residual value, cost/benefit of relevant processes, etc.), ecological (e.g. pollutant components /substances), etc.) and technical parameters (e.g. reliability, etc.). For the purpose to integrate the total cost-of-ownership of products or components, WiMonDi integrates the costs of the use of products as well as the Re-Use costs/benefits. To initiate the conception of new distribution and user models between the supplier and the user of assembly facilities the described approach is conducted in close cooperation between Industry and University.

  14. Influence of living environment and subjective economic hardship on new-onset of low back pain for survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yabe, Yutaka; Hagiwara, Yoshihiro; Sekiguchi, Takuya; Sugawara, Yumi; Sato, Mari; Kanazawa, Kenji; Koide, Masashi; Itaya, Nobuyuki; Tsuchiya, Masahiro; Tsuji, Ichiro; Itoi, Eiji

    2017-01-01

    The Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent tsunami devastated the northeastern part of Japan. Low back pain is thought to increase after a natural disaster and is related to various factors. The aim of this study was to examine the influencing factors of "Living environment" and "Subjective economic hardship" on new-onset of low back pain in the chronic phase for the survivors of the earthquake evaluated by a self-report questionnaire. A panel study was conducted with the Great East Japan Earthquake survivors at 2 and 3 years after the disaster. New-onset of low back pain was defined as low back pain absent at the 1st period (2 years after the earthquake) and present at the 2nd period (3 years after the earthquake). Living environment was divided into 4 categories (1. Living in the same house as before the earthquake, 2. Living in a prefabricated house, 3. Living in a new house, 4. Others: Living in an apartment, house of relatives or acquaintance). Subjective economic hardship was obtained using the following self-report question: "How do you feel about the current economic situation of your household?" The response alternatives were "Normal", "A little bit hard", "Hard", and "Very hard". A univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used. 1357 survivors consented to join this study. There was no significant association between new-onset of low back pain and living environment. There was significant association between new-onset of low back pain and "A little hard" (OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.07-2.40), "Hard" (OR = 2.2, 95% CI = 1.56-3.74), and "Very hard" (OR = 3.19, 95% CI = 1.84-5.53) in subjective economic hardship. Subjective economic hardship was significantly associated with new-onset of low back pain in the chronic phase for survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  15. Use of Fish Telemetry in Rehabilitation Planning, Management, and Monitoring in Areas of Concern in the Laurentian Great Lakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brooks, J. L.; Boston, C.; Doka, S.; Gorsky, D.; Gustavson, K.; Hondorp, D.; Isermann, D.; Midwood, J. D.; Pratt, T. C.; Rous, A. M.; Withers, J. L.; Krueger, C. C.; Cooke, S. J.

    2017-12-01

    Freshwater ecosystems provide many ecosystem services; however, they are often degraded as a result of human activity. To address ecosystem degradation in the Laurentian Great Lakes, Canada and the United States of America established the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA). In 1987, 43 highly polluted and impacted areas were identified under the GLWQA as having one or more of 14 Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) to the physical and chemical habitat for fish, wildlife and humans, and were designated as Areas of Concern (AOC). Subnational jurisdictions combined with local stakeholders, with support from federal governments, developed plans to remediate and restore these sites. Biotelemetry (the tracking of animals using electronic tags) provides information on the spatial ecology of fish in the wild relevant to habitat management and stock assessment. Here, seven case studies are presented where biotelemetry data were directly incorporated within the AOC Remedial Action Plan (RAP) process. Specific applications include determining seasonal fish-habitat associations to inform habitat restoration plans, identifying the distribution of pollutant-indicator species to identify exposure risk to contamination sources, informing the development of fish passage facilities to enable fish to access fragmented upstream habitats, and assessing fish use of created or restored habitats. With growing capacity for fish biotelemetry research in the Great Lakes, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of incorporating biotelemetry into AOC RAP processes to improve the science and practice of restoration and to facilitate the delisting of AOCs.

  16. Use of fish telemetry in rehabilitation planning, management, and monitoring in Areas of Concern in the Laurentian Great Lakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brooks, J.L.; Boston, C.; Doka, Susan E.; Gorsky, Dimitry; Gustavson, K.; Hondorp, Darryl W.; Isermann, Daniel A.; Midwood, Jonathan D.; Pratt, T.C.; Rous, Andrew M.; Withers, J. L.; Krueger, C.C.; Cooke, S.J.

    2017-01-01

    Freshwater ecosystems provide many ecosystem services; however, they are often degraded as a result of human activity. To address ecosystem degradation in the Laurentian Great Lakes, Canada and the United States of America established the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA). In 1987, 43 highly polluted and impacted areas were identified under the GLWQA as having one or more of 14 Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) to the physical and chemical habitat for fish, wildlife and humans, and were designated as Areas of Concern (AOC). Subnational jurisdictions combined with local stakeholders, with support from federal governments, developed plans to remediate and restore these sites. Biotelemetry (the tracking of animals using electronic tags) provides information on the spatial ecology of fish in the wild relevant to habitat management and stock assessment. Here, seven case studies are presented where biotelemetry data were directly incorporated within the AOC Remedial Action Plan (RAP) process. Specific applications include determining seasonal fish–habitat associations to inform habitat restoration plans, identifying the distribution of pollutant-indicator species to identify exposure risk to contamination sources, informing the development of fish passage facilities to enable fish to access fragmented upstream habitats, and assessing fish use of created or restored habitats. With growing capacity for fish biotelemetry research in the Great Lakes, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of incorporating biotelemetry into AOC RAP processes to improve the science and practice of restoration and to facilitate the delisting of AOCs.

  17. Chemicals of emerging concern in water and bottom sediment in Great Lakes areas of concern, 2010 to 2011-Collection methods, analyses methods, quality assurance, and data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Kathy E.; Langer, Susan K.; Menheer, Michael A.; Foreman, William T.; Furlong, Edward T.; Smith, Steven G.

    2012-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) cooperated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on a study to identify the occurrence of chemicals of emerging concern (CECs) in water and bottom-sediment samples collected during 2010–11 at sites in seven areas of concern (AOCs) throughout the Great Lakes. Study sites include tributaries to the Great Lakes in AOCs located near Duluth, Minn.; Green Bay, Wis.; Roches­ter, N.Y.; Detroit, Mich.; Toledo, Ohio; Milwaukee, Wis.; and Ashtabula, Ohio. This report documents the collection meth­ods, analyses methods, quality-assurance data and analyses, and provides the data for this study. Water and bottom-sediment samples were analyzed at the USGS National Water Quality Laboratory in Denver, Colo., for a broad suite of CECs. During this study, 135 environmental and 23 field dupli­cate samples of surface water and wastewater effluent, 10 field blank water samples, and 11 field spike water samples were collected and analyzed. Sixty-one of the 69 wastewater indicator chemicals (laboratory method 4433) analyzed were detected at concentrations ranging from 0.002 to 11.2 micrograms per liter. Twenty-eight of the 48 pharmaceuticals (research method 8244) analyzed were detected at concentrations ranging from 0.0029 to 22.0 micro­grams per liter. Ten of the 20 steroid hormones and sterols analyzed (research method 4434) were detected at concentrations ranging from 0.16 to 10,000 nanograms per liter. During this study, 75 environmental, 13 field duplicate samples, and 9 field spike samples of bottom sediment were collected and analyzed for a wide variety of CECs. Forty-seven of the 57 wastewater indicator chemicals (laboratory method 5433) analyzed were detected at concentrations ranging from 0.921 to 25,800 nanograms per gram. Seventeen of the 20 steroid hormones and sterols (research method 6434) analyzed were detected at concentrations ranging from 0.006 to 8,921 nanograms per gram. Twelve of

  18. Community Economics

    OpenAIRE

    武藤, 宣道; Nobumichi, MUTOH

    2000-01-01

    This paper examines the new field of community economics with respect to Japan. A number of studies in community economics have already been produced in OECD countries including the United States. Although these are of great interest, each country has its own historical, socioeconomic context and must therefore develop its own approach to community economics. Community-oriented economics is neither macro-nor micro-economics in the standard economics textbook sense. Most community economics st...

  19. Substitution of healthy for unhealthy beverages among college students. A health-concerns and behavioral-economics perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Chao-Chin; Chiou, Wen-Bin

    2010-06-01

    Excessive intake of sugar-sweetened beverages by undergraduates is closely related to the increasing prevalence of obesity, making investigations of the substitution of healthy for unhealthy beverages imperative. According to the concept of price elasticity in behavioral economics, the choice of healthy over unhealthy behaviors is facilitated by increasing the cost of less-healthy alternatives or reducing the cost of healthier alternatives. Furthermore, evoking health concerns by using health claims may induce substitution of healthy for unhealthy beverages. A total of 108 18-22-year-old undergraduates participated in a laboratory experiment and were given a certain amount of money and allowed to purchase a healthy beverage and a less-healthy beverage with or without receiving health claims. Increasing the price of a type of beverage was shown to reduce purchases of that beverage type and lead to substitution with the alternative type. Moreover, the effect of price elasticity on healthy beverage substitution was more pronounced when participants' health concerns were evoked. The results suggest that lowering the cost of alternative commodities and evoking health concerns by health-related claims would foster the substitution of healthier for unhealthy beverages among college students. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. A comparison of sediment toxicity test methods at three Great Lake Areas of Concern

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burton, G. Allen; Ingersoll, Christopher G.; Burnett, LouAnn C.; Henry, Mary; Hinman, Mark L.; Klaine, Stephen J.; Landrum, Peter F.; Ross, Phillipe; Tuchman, Marc

    1996-01-01

    The significance of sediment contamination is often evaluated using sediment toxicity (bioassay) testing. There are relatively few “standardized” test methods for evaluating sediments. Popular sediment toxicity methods examine the extractable water (elutriate), interstitial water, or whole (bulk) sediment phases using test species spanning the aquatic food chain from bacteria to fish. The current study was designed to evaluate which toxicity tests were most useful in evaluations of sediment contamination at three Great Lake Areas of Concern. Responses of 24 different organisms including fish, mayflies, amphipods, midges, cladocerans, rotifers, macrophytes, algae, and bacteria were compared using whole sediment or elutriate toxicity assays. Sediments from several sites in the Buffalo River, Calumet River (Indiana Harbor), and Saginaw River were tested, as part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) Assessment and Remediation of Contaminated Sediments (ARCS) Project. Results indicated several assays to be sensitive to sediment toxicity and able to discriminate between differing levels of toxicity. Many of the assay responses were significantly correlated to other toxicity responses and were similar based on factor analysis. For most applications, a test design consisting of two to three assays should adequately detect sediment toxicity, consisting of various groupings of the following species: Hyalella azteca, Ceriodaphnia dubia, Chironomus riparius, Chironomus tentans, Daphnia magna, Pimephales promelas, Hexagenia bilineata, Diporeia sp., Hydrilla verticillata, or Lemna minor.

  1. Organic contamination in tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) nestlings at United States and binational great Lakes Areas of Concern

    Science.gov (United States)

    Custer, Thomas W.; Custer, Christine M.; Dummer, Paul; Goldberg, Diana R.; Franson, J. Christian; Erickson, Richard A.

    2017-01-01

    Contaminant exposure of tree swallows, Tachycineta bicolor, nesting in 27 Areas of Concern (AOCs) in the Great Lakes basin was assessed from 2010 to 2014 to assist managers and regulators in their assessments of Great Lakes AOCs. Contaminant concentrations in nestlings from AOCs were compared with those in nestlings from nearby non-AOC sites. Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether concentrations in tree swallow nestling carcasses at 30% and 33% of AOCs, respectively, were below the mean concentration for non-AOCs. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations in nestling stomach contents and perfluorinated compound concentrations in nestling plasma at 67% and 64% of AOCs, respectively, were below the mean concentration for non-AOCs. Concentrations of PCBs in nestling carcasses were elevated at some AOCs but modest compared with highly PCB-contaminated sites where reproductive effects have been documented. Concentrations of PAHs in diet were sufficiently elevated at some AOCs to elicit a measurable physiological response. Among AOCs, concentrations of the perfluorinated compound perfluorooctane sulfonate in plasma were the highest on the River Raisin (MI, USA; geometric mean 330 ng/mL) but well below an estimated toxicity reference value (1700 ng/mL). Both PAH and PCB concentrations in nestling stomach contents and PCBs in carcasses were significantly correlated with concentrations in sediment previously reported, thereby reinforcing the utility of tree swallows to assess bioavailability of sediment contamination.

  2. Partially wrong? Partial equilibrium and the economic analysis of public health emergencies of international concern.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beutels, P; Edmunds, W J; Smith, R D

    2008-11-01

    We argue that traditional health economic analysis is ill-equipped to estimate the cost effectiveness and cost benefit of interventions that aim at controlling and/or preventing public health emergencies of international concern (such as pandemic influenza or severe acute respiratory syndrome). The implicit assumption of partial equilibrium within both the health sector itself and--if a wider perspective is adopted--the economy as a whole would be violated by such emergencies. We propose an alternative, with the specific aim of accounting for the behavioural changes and capacity problems that are expected to occur when such an outbreak strikes. Copyright (c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  3. Suicide and the Great Recession of 2007-2009: the role of economic factors in the 50 U.S. states.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phillips, Julie A; Nugent, Colleen N

    2014-09-01

    After several decades of decline, U.S. suicide rates have risen since 2005, a trend driven largely by increases among those aged 45-64 that began in 1999. A prominent explanation for this pattern relates to deteriorating economic conditions, especially the sharp rise in unemployment associated with the Great Recession of 2007-2009. We pool data from 1997 to 2010 on the 50 U.S. states to examine the role of economic factors in producing the recent rise in suicide rates. Unlike prior studies, we examine trends in the total suicide rate and in the rate disaggregated by sex, age group and time period and include a number of important confounding factors in a multivariate analysis. We find a strong positive association between unemployment rates and total suicide rates over time within states. The association appears stronger in states that had higher female labor force participation rates over the period, suggesting that the Great Recession may generate greater levels of anomie in this context. Once we consider contextual factors such as female labor force participation, we find that rising unemployment had a similar adverse effect on male and female suicide rates. A positive effect of unemployment on temporal variation in middle-aged suicide exists but not for other age groups. Other economic characteristics, such as percent of manufacturing jobs and per capita income, are not associated with temporal variation in suicide rates within states but are associated with variation between states in suicide rates. The findings suggest that the following may be important components of effective prevention strategies: 1) specifically targeting employers and workplaces as important stakeholders in the prevention of suicide, 2) disseminating information about health risks tied to un/employment, and 3) linking the unemployed to mental health resources. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  4. Will oil palm's homecoming spell doom for Africa's great apes?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wich, Serge A; Garcia-Ulloa, John; Kühl, Hjalmar S; Humle, Tatanya; Lee, Janice S H; Koh, Lian Pin

    2014-07-21

    Expansion of oil palm plantations has led to extensive wildlife habitat conversion in Southeast Asia [1]. This expansion is driven by a global demand for palm oil for products ranging from foods to detergents [2], and more recently for biofuels [3]. The negative impacts of oil palm development on biodiversity [1, 4, 5], and on orangutans (Pongo spp.) in particular, have been well documented [6, 7] and publicized [8, 9]. Although the oil palm is of African origin, Africa's production historically lags behind that of Southeast Asia. Recently, significant investments have been made that will likely drive the expansion of Africa's oil palm industry [10]. There is concern that this will lead to biodiversity losses similar to those in Southeast Asia. Here, we analyze the potential impact of oil palm development on Africa's great apes. Current great ape distribution in Africa substantially overlaps with current oil palm concessions (by 58.7%) and areas suitable for oil palm production (by 42.3%). More importantly, 39.9% of the distribution of great ape species on unprotected lands overlaps with suitable oil palm areas. There is an urgent need to develop guidelines for the expansion of oil palm in Africa to minimize the negative effects on apes and other wildlife. There is also a need for research to support land use decisions to reconcile economic development, great ape conservation, and avoiding carbon emissions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Great Lakes rivermouths: a primer for managers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pebbles, Victoria; Larson, James; Seelbach, Paul; Pebbles, Victoria; Larson, James; Seelbach, Paul

    2013-01-01

    Between the North American Great Lakes and their tributaries are the places where the confluence of river and lake waters creates a distinct ecosystem: the rivermouth ecosystem. Human development has often centered around these rivermouths, in part, because they provide a rich array of ecosystem services. Not surprisingly, centuries of intense human activity have led to substantial pressures on, and alterations to, these ecosystems, often diminishing or degrading their ecological functions and associated ecological services. Many Great Lakes rivermouths are the focus of intense restoration efforts. For example, 36 of the active Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs) are rivermouths or areas that include one or more rivermouths. Historically, research of rivermouth ecosystems has been piecemeal, focused on the Great Lakes proper or on the upper reaches of tributaries, with little direct study of the rivermouth itself. Researchers have been divided among disciplines, agencies and institutions; and they often work independently and use disparate venues to communicate their work. Management has also been fragmented with a focus on smaller, localized, sub-habitat units and socio-political or economic elements, rather than system-level consideration. This Primer presents the case for a more holistic approach to rivermouth science and management that can enable restoration of ecosystem services with multiple benefits to humans and the Great Lakes ecosystem. A conceptual model is presented with supporting text that describes the structures and processes common to all rivermouths, substantiating the case for treating these ecosystems as an identifiable class.1 Ecological services provided by rivermouths and changes in how humans value those services over time are illustrated through case studies of two Great Lakes rivermouths—the St. Louis River and the Maumee River. Specific ecosystem services are identified in italics throughout this Primer and follow definitions described

  6. Second-Generation Outcomes of the Great Migration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexander, J Trent; Leibbrand, Christine; Massey, Catherine; Tolnay, Stewart

    2017-12-01

    The mass migration of African Americans out of the South during the first two-thirds of the twentieth century represents one of the most significant internal migration flows in U.S. Those undertaking the Great Migration left the South in search of a better life, and their move transformed the cultural, social, and political dynamics of African American life specifically and U.S. society more generally. Recent research offers conflicting evidence regarding the migrants' success in translating their geographic mobility into economic mobility. Due in part to the lack of a large body of longitudinal data, almost all studies of the Great Migration have focused on the migrants themselves, usually over short periods of their working lives. Using longitudinally linked census data, we take a broader view, investigating the long-term economic and social effects of the Great Migration on the migrants' children. Our results reveal modest but statistically significant advantages in education, income, and poverty status for the African American children of the Great Migration relative to the children of southerners who remained in the South. In contrast, second-generation white migrants experienced few benefits from migrating relative to southern or northern stayers.

  7. Economic Citizenship and Socio-Economic Rationality as Foundations of an Appropriate Economic Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christoph Schank

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available In this article we argue that social science education needs to convey more than operational mechanisms of society. Especially in socio-economic education, questions of business ethics, i.e. phenomena of economics and society need to be integrated and reflected, decidedly focusing on the moral content of economics. With the introduction of economic citizenship as the ideal economic actor to be the purpose of economic education, this paper proposes that economic education needs to connect economic expertise and moral judgment and should also allude to the necessity of every market action’s conditional legitimization by society. We propose to discuss different ‘sites’ of morality as a heuristic approach to the different areas of economic responsibility. The individual, organizational and political level of responsibility helps to categorize the different moral issues of economic activity and serves as a great pattern to explain economic relations to scholars and students.

  8. European economic policies, stock-flow relations and the great double crisis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vittorio Valli

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The 2007-2015 crisis has been the most devastating economic depression in the last seven decades. It has struck in different ways and with different amplitude the US and most European countries. In most countries it has been a double crisis (financial and real, but in Eurozone's financially vulnerable countries it has also badly worsened public finance indicators. There was therefore in those countries, a complex perverse feedback between public finance weakness, the harsh application of austerity policy and a further increase in the depth and duration of real and financial crisis. The paper focus on the importance of stock-flow relations in worsening and prolonging economic depressions triggered by structural bubbles or other chronic imbalances. It also gives a critical assessment of some aspects of EU economic policies, outlining some elements for a possible alternative economic strategy.

  9. When Do States Respond to Low Fertility? Contexts of State Concern in Wealthier Countries, 1976-2011.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marshall, Emily A

    2015-06-01

    Since the 1970s, expressions of state concern over low fertility have greatly increased among wealthier countries. This study asks to what extent this increase is explained by demographic factors, national-level economic and political factors, and processes of international diffusion and changing international norms. Analyses integrate the world polity literature on global policy diffusion with a social problems approach to examine international diffusion of state concern among more powerful members of the world polity, a process that can produce changes in international policy consensus. Comparisons of the characteristics of states that do and do not express concern over low fertility find that among wealthier "first-world" countries, state concern has become more responsive to fertility rates: fertility rates are not significantly associated with concern early in the study period, but are strongly associated with concern later in the study period. There is no evidence that integration into the world polity is associated with concern in these countries, and some evidence that less integrated countries are more likely to express concern, suggesting that processes shaping the diffusion of state concern may differ from those identified as shaping policy diffusion in the existing literature. Among "second-world" former Eastern bloc countries, different patterns of associations reflect different political histories: concern is associated only with demographic factors, with no significant change in this association over time.

  10. «Great Eurasia»: interests and possibilities of Russia at interaction with China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena M. Kuzmina

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The Author analyzes the regulatory structure proposed by the President Putin’s strategy of «Great Eurasia» in Russian official and economic policy frameworks and development programmes, Examines internal and external factors affecting the Eurasian Union, as a base for building relationships within the «Great Eurasia». The emphasis the author makes the EAEU’s interest in the development of economic relations with the countries of «Great Eurasia» with the use of the Union. He also analyzes the dynamics of the negotiation process for conclusion of trade and economic agreements between the EEC and China and the challenges and opportunities of member countries in economic relations with China. Considered the level of compatibility of the Eurasian Union and the initiative «One belt and one road». A separate part of the article devoted to economic cooperation of Russia and China and their possible interaction in the construction of the Grand Eurasia.  

  11. The economics of fuel management: Wildfire, invasive plants, and the dynamics of sagebrush rangelands in the western United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michael H. Taylor; Kimberly Rollins; Mimako Kobayashi; Robin J. Tausch

    2013-01-01

    In this article we develop a simulation model to evaluate the economic efficiency of fuel treatments and apply it to two sagebrush ecosystems in the Great Basin of the western United States: the Wyoming Sagebrush Steppe and Mountain Big Sagebrush ecosystems. These ecosystems face the two most prominent concerns in sagebrush ecosystems relative to wildfire: annual grass...

  12. Who was concerned about radiation, food safety, and natural disasters after the great East Japan earthquake and Fukushima catastrophe? A nationwide cross-sectional survey in 2012.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sugimoto, Takashi; Shinozaki, Tomohiro; Naruse, Takashi; Miyamoto, Yuki

    2014-01-01

    Disaster-related concerns by sub-populations have not been clarified after the great East Japan earthquake and the Fukushima nuclear power plant incidents. This paper assesses who was concerned about radiation, food safety, and natural disasters among the general population in order to buffer such concerns effectively. The hypothesis that women, parents, and family caregivers were most concerned about radiation, food safety, and natural disaster was tested using a varying-intercept multivariable logistic regression with 5809 responses from a nationwide cross-sectional survey random-sampled in March 2012. Many people were at least occasionally concerned about radiation (53.5%), food safety (47.3%), and about natural disaster (69.5%). Women were more concerned than men about radiation (OR = 1.67; 95% CI = 1.35-2.06), food safety (1.70; 1.38-2.10), and natural disasters (1.74; 1.39-2.19). Parents and family care needs were not significant. Married couples were more concerned about radiation (1.53; 1.33-1.77), food safety (1.38; 1.20-1.59), and natural disasters (1.30; 1.12-1.52). Age, child-cohabitation, college-completion, retirement status, homemaker status, and the house-damage certificate of the last disaster were also associated with at least one concern. Participants from the Kanto region were more concerned about radiation (2.08; 1.58-2.74) and food safety (1.30; 1.07-1.59), which demonstrate similar positive associations to participants from Tohoku where a disaster relief act was invoked (3.36; 2.25-5.01 about radiation, 1.49; 1.08-2.06 about food safety). Sectioning the populations by gender and other demographics will clarify prospective targets for interventions, allow for a better understanding of post-disaster concerns, and help communicate relevant information effectively.

  13. Who was concerned about radiation, food safety, and natural disasters after the great East Japan earthquake and Fukushima catastrophe? A nationwide cross-sectional survey in 2012.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takashi Sugimoto

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Disaster-related concerns by sub-populations have not been clarified after the great East Japan earthquake and the Fukushima nuclear power plant incidents. This paper assesses who was concerned about radiation, food safety, and natural disasters among the general population in order to buffer such concerns effectively. METHODS: The hypothesis that women, parents, and family caregivers were most concerned about radiation, food safety, and natural disaster was tested using a varying-intercept multivariable logistic regression with 5809 responses from a nationwide cross-sectional survey random-sampled in March 2012. RESULTS: Many people were at least occasionally concerned about radiation (53.5%, food safety (47.3%, and about natural disaster (69.5%. Women were more concerned than men about radiation (OR = 1.67; 95% CI = 1.35-2.06, food safety (1.70; 1.38-2.10, and natural disasters (1.74; 1.39-2.19. Parents and family care needs were not significant. Married couples were more concerned about radiation (1.53; 1.33-1.77, food safety (1.38; 1.20-1.59, and natural disasters (1.30; 1.12-1.52. Age, child-cohabitation, college-completion, retirement status, homemaker status, and the house-damage certificate of the last disaster were also associated with at least one concern. Participants from the Kanto region were more concerned about radiation (2.08; 1.58-2.74 and food safety (1.30; 1.07-1.59, which demonstrate similar positive associations to participants from Tohoku where a disaster relief act was invoked (3.36; 2.25-5.01 about radiation, 1.49; 1.08-2.06 about food safety. CONCLUSIONS: Sectioning the populations by gender and other demographics will clarify prospective targets for interventions, allow for a better understanding of post-disaster concerns, and help communicate relevant information effectively.

  14. A historical perspective on the "fish tumors or other deformities" beneficial use impairment at Great Lakes Areas of Concern

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rafferty, S.D.; Blazer, V.S.; Pinkney, A.E.; Grazio, J.L.; Obert, E.C.; Boughton, L.

    2009-01-01

    The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement defines Areas of Concern as geographic areas that fail to meet the general or specific objectives of the agreement where such failure has caused or is likely to cause impairment of beneficial use of the area's ability to support aquatic life. One of the beneficial use impairments, fish tumors or other deformities, is defined by the International Joint Commission to occur when the incidence rate of fish tumors and other deformities exceeds rates at unimpacted or control sites, or when survey data confirm the presence of neoplastic or preneoplastic liver tumors in bullhead or suckers. Brown bullhead, a benthic species with a limited home range, have frequently been used as indicator species in U.S. Areas of Concern. While there is strong field evidence for an association between PAH exposure and hepatic neoplasia in brown bullhead, laboratory investigations would strengthen the association. There is less evidence linking specific classes of chemicals in the environment to orocutaneous neoplasia in brown bullhead. Studies on orocutaneous neoplasia of brown bullhead should focus on assessing the presence or absence of viruses and on epidermal exposure to specific chemicals and chemical mixtures. Lastly, the effects of covariates such as length, age, and gender on the prevalence of liver and skin neoplasms should be investigated. This paper reviews the state of science on the fish tumors or other deformities beneficial use impairment. Subsequent papers address specific issues related to this impairment and provide recommendations for standardized criteria.

  15. Black economic empowerment in the South African coal industry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2004-07-01

    South Africa has experienced great change and progress in the ten years since the end of apartheid and the inauguration of its first democratic government. Back in 1994, many were concerned about whether such a young and fragile democracy could survive. The new government needed to unify the country, while bringing about the significant change necessary to address the massive racial inequality at the heart of the apartheid system. The article explains actions and initiatives taken under the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) programme, one of which is the establishment of Eyesizwe Coal. 2 figs., 1 photo.

  16. The survival of the great financial journalism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elvira CALVO GUTIÉRREZ

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Traditionally, the economic international journalism has had in the Anglo-Saxon groups Dow Jones (USA and Pearson (Great Britain, publishers of The Wall Street and Financial Times respectively, his big world models. Nevertheless, the new century has brought enormous convulsions to the sector, to the newspapaers of elite and big agencies specialized in economic information as Reuters, Thomson or Bloomberg. To the battle in Internet, there add the expansion of the informative economic power and the changes of mentality of the companies and of the audiences. All this has derived in a fierce war led by the big leaders who, with more than one century of tradition someones, have been object of sales or mergers, financial indispensable operations to be able to adapt to the new times. The aim of this article is to analyze the path of the great economic journalism, with special dedication to two fronts: one, to know how these neswspapers of elite are positioned in the network; other one, the dilemma between continuing being a journalism of quality, rigorous, cosmopolitan and expensive of supporting, or to change towards an ideological, gruesome journalism or amarillista that, since in other specialities, also has spread between the financial journalism

  17. Safety studies concerning nuclear power reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bailly, Jean; Pelce, Jacques

    1980-01-01

    The safety of nuclear installations poses different technical problems, whether concerning pressurized water reactors or fast reactors. But investigating methods are closely related and concern, on the one hand, the behavior of shields placed between fuel and outside and, on the other, analysis of accidents. The article is therefore in two parts based on the same plan. Concerning light water reactors, the programme of studies undertaken in France accounts for the research carried out in countries where collaboration agreements exist. Concerning fast reactors, France has the initiative of their studies owing to her technical advance, which explains the great importance of the programmes under way [fr

  18. When Do States Respond to Low Fertility? Contexts of State Concern in Wealthier Countries, 1976–2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marshall, Emily A.

    2015-01-01

    Since the 1970s, expressions of state concern over low fertility have greatly increased among wealthier countries. This study asks to what extent this increase is explained by demographic factors, national-level economic and political factors, and processes of international diffusion and changing international norms. Analyses integrate the world polity literature on global policy diffusion with a social problems approach to examine international diffusion of state concern among more powerful members of the world polity, a process that can produce changes in international policy consensus. Comparisons of the characteristics of states that do and do not express concern over low fertility find that among wealthier “first-world” countries, state concern has become more responsive to fertility rates: fertility rates are not significantly associated with concern early in the study period, but are strongly associated with concern later in the study period. There is no evidence that integration into the world polity is associated with concern in these countries, and some evidence that less integrated countries are more likely to express concern, suggesting that processes shaping the diffusion of state concern may differ from those identified as shaping policy diffusion in the existing literature. Among “second-world” former Eastern bloc countries, different patterns of associations reflect different political histories: concern is associated only with demographic factors, with no significant change in this association over time. PMID:26213421

  19. Electricity utility deregulation in Great Britain: economic and industrial consequences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1993-01-01

    In this paper we analyze in the first part how was made the deregulation of the public electric utilities in Great Britain and in the second the logic and the contradictions of this deregulation in an industrial point of view

  20. GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND APPLIED ECONOMICS: AN INITIAL DISCUSSION OF POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS AND CONTRIBUTIONS

    OpenAIRE

    Taupier, Richard; Willis, Cleve E.

    1994-01-01

    Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are becoming increasingly important to virtually all of the natural and social sciences. Applied economists will find that GIS can make valuable contributions to many of the problems with which they are concerned. Moreover, a great deal of the science behind GIS technology would benefit from the contributions of applied economists. This paper presents some initial suggestions for the ways in which GIS may be important to economics and the GIS related issue...

  1. Network Interactions in the Great Altai Region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lev Aleksandrovich Korshunov

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available To improve the efficiency and competitiveness of the regional economy, an effective interaction between educational institutions in the Great Altai region is needed. The innovation growth can enhancing this interaction. The article explores the state of network structures in the economy and higher education in the border territories of the countries of Great Altai. The authors propose an updated approach to the three-level classification of network interaction. We analyze growing influence of the countries with emerging economies. We define the factors that impede the more stable and multifaceted regional development of these countries. Further, the authors determine indicators of the higher education systems and cooperation systems at the university level between the Shanghai Cooperation Organization countries (SCO and BRICS countries, showing the international rankings of the universities in these countries. The teaching language is important to overcome the obstacles in the interregional cooperation. The authors specify the problems of the development of the universities of the SCO and BRICS countries as global educational networks. The research applies basic scientific logical methods of analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, as well as the SWOT analysis method. We have indentified and analyzed the existing economic and educational relations. To promote the economic innovation development of the border territories of the Great Altai, we propose a model of regional network university. Modern universities function in a new economic environment. Thus, in a great extent, they form the technological and social aspects of this environment. Innovative network structures contribute to the formation of a new network institutional environment of the regional economy, which impacts the macro- and microeconomic performance of the region as a whole. The results of the research can help to optimize the regional economies of the border

  2. Concerning the etiology of bony bridges along the sides of the terminal phalanx of the great toe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fischer, E.

    1987-06-01

    Besides in acromegaly bony bridges at the terminal phalanx of the great toe occur in one third of cases with peripheral signs of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis, systemic diseases as rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis with chronic inflammation of the interphalangeal joint of the great toe respectively extraarticular osseous changes in the terminal phalanx of the great toe do not influence the development of such bridges.

  3. Popular epidemiology and "fracking": citizens' concerns regarding the economic, environmental, health and social impacts of unconventional natural gas drilling operations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powers, Martha; Saberi, Poune; Pepino, Richard; Strupp, Emily; Bugos, Eva; Cannuscio, Carolyn C

    2015-06-01

    Pennsylvania sits atop the Marcellus Shale, a reservoir of natural gas that was untapped until the 2004 introduction of unconventional natural gas drilling operations (UNGDO) in the state. Colloquially known as fracking, UNGDO is a controversial process that employs large volumes of water to fracture the shale and capture gas; it has become a multi-billion dollar industry in Pennsylvania. We analyzed letters to the editor of the most widely circulated local newspaper in the most heavily drilled county in Pennsylvania (Bradford County) in order to characterize residents' concerns and their involvement in popular epidemiology--the process by which citizens investigate risks associated with a perceived environmental threat. We reviewed 215 letters to the editor that referenced natural gas operations and were published by The Daily Review between January 1, 2008 and June 8, 2013. We used NVivo 10 to code and analyze letters and identify major themes. Nvivo is qualitative data analysis software (http://www.qsrinternational.com/products_nvivo.aspx) that allows researchers to code and analyze "unstructured" data, including text files of any type (e.g., interview transcripts, news articles, letters, archival materials) as well as photographs and videos. Nvivo can be used to classify, sort, query, comment on, and share data across a research group. Letters demonstrated citizen engagement in beginning and intermediate stages of lay epidemiology, as well as discord and stress regarding four main issues: socio-economic impacts, perceived threats to water, population growth and implications, and changes to the rural landscape. Residents called for stronger scientific evidence and a balance of economic development and health and environmental protections. Citizens' distress regarding UNGDO appeared to be exacerbated by a dearth of information to guide economic growth and health, environmental, and social concerns. This analysis proposes locally informed questions to guide future

  4. ["Great jobs"-also in psychiatry?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spiessl, H; Hübner-Liebermann, B

    2003-09-01

    Against the background of a beginning shortage of psychiatrists, results from interviews with 112 employees of an automotive company with the topic "Great Job" are presented to discuss their relevance to psychiatry. The interviews were analysed by means of a qualitative content analysis. Most employees assigned importance to great pay, constructive collaboration with colleagues, and work appealing to personal interests. Further statements particularly relevant to psychiatry were: successful career, flexible working hours, manageable job, work-life balance, well-founded training, no bureaucracy within the company, and personal status in society. The well-known economic restrictions in health care and the still negative attitude towards psychiatry currently reduce the attraction of psychiatry as a profession. From the viewpoint of personnel management, the attractors of a great job revealed in this study are proposed as important clues for the recruitment of medical students for psychiatry and the development of psychiatric staff.

  5. Medium-term fluctuations and the "Great Ratios" of economic growth

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Groth, Christian; Madsen, Jakob B.

    2016-01-01

    Evidence for the OECD countries show that the “great ratios”, such as the unemployment rate, factor shares, Tobin’s q and the investment-capital ratio, fluctuate significantly on medium-term frequencies of 10-40 years duration. To explain these medium-term fluctuations, we establish a macro...

  6. Democracy, Citizen Sovereignty and Constitutional Economics

    OpenAIRE

    Vanberg, Viktor J.

    2006-01-01

    This paper is an exercise in conceptual clarification. Its purpose is to explore the contribution that constitutional economics can make to the theory of democracy. Constitutional economics as the economics of rules is concerned with the study of how the choice of rules in the social, economic and political realm affects the nature of the processes of human interaction that evolve within these rules. The theory of democracy is concerned with institutionalorganizational problems of self-govern...

  7. Risk perception and environmental health concerns in conditions of social security threat

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kolarova, D.

    1998-01-01

    Full text of publication follows: this study explores the connection between the perception of different societal risk, health concerns and behavioral attitudes of people in condition of social security threat. Two small and two big industrial towns were chosen in order to observe the social and psychological price of the structural changes in the industry such as unemployment and its reflection on the households and the individuals' social attitudes. Key stakeholders were interviewed and questionnaire survey was carried out. The results showed high level of risk sensitivity and health concerns when people felt threatened by lack of social and economic security. The pollution was found to be important problem when it caused direct and obvious risk to human health and the environment. In the same time reverse environmental behavior like insensitiveness and neglectful attitude was observed in cases when the health consequences of the pollution were perceived to be unclear and with delayed effect. In situation of a great socio-economic threat noninvolvement helped the individuals to adapt. The research proved the influence of several risk characteristics on risk perception. It was found a connection between the risk perception and risk controllability, voluntariness of exposure and cost/benefits distribution. In the study areas respondents' judgments on these characteristics reflected directly their social status and material state. The study presented here is in progress - it i's supported by research grant from Open Society Foundation. (author)

  8. MOBILE COMPUTING USING ANDROID WITH AN EMPHASIZES ON ECONOMIC APPLICATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magnolia TILCA

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available As result of the convergence of computers and mobile phones, Android comes with the great opportunity of implementing personal mobile applications in a Java language environment. The paper presents two main aspects concerning the new age of programming. The first aspect refers to the existing library of applications in economic domain. The paper extracts the most useful financial and business apps that run on Android smart-phones. The second aspect presents an example of building an economic application using one of Android’s various IDEs (Integrated Development Environments: Android Studio. The developed app calculates the prognosis of a business size starting from known statistic data sets and evaluates the effort of the business implementation, using the linear regression method. The app differs from other Android applications by the explicit answers that result from the regression calculus

  9. Finding the economics in economic entomology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Onstad, David W; Knolhoff, Lisa M

    2009-02-01

    To recommend new pest management tactics and strategies to farmers and policy makers, economic entomologists must evaluate the economics of biologically reasonable approaches. We collected data to determine how frequently these economic evaluations occur. We discovered from our survey of entomological journals representing the discipline of economic entomology that papers published since 1972 include economic evaluations of pest management tactics. At least 85% of these analyses were performed by entomologists and not economists. Much of the research on economic evaluations is performed without special funds granted by agencies separate from the authors' institutions. In the United States, USDA competitive grants supported 20% of the economic evaluations published since 2000. However, only approximately 12% of the projects funded since 2000 by three sections of the USDA (Crops at Risk, Risk Avoidance and Mitigation Program, and Pest Management Alternatives Program) resulted in publications concerning economic evaluations. If the purpose of economic entomology is to ultimately determine the value of different kinds of tactics, the discipline may need to take steps to enhance the research that supports these evaluations.

  10. Adaptability of the Logistics System in National Economic Mobilization Based on Blocking Flow Theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiangyuan Jing

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available In the process of national economic mobilization, the logistics system usually suffers from negative impact and/or threats of such emergency events as wars and accidents, which implies that adaptability of the logistics system directly determines realization of economic mobilization. And where the real-time rescue operation is concerned, heavy traffic congestion is likely to cause a great loss of or damage to human beings and their properties. To deal with this situation, this article constructs a blocking-resistance optimum model and an optimum restructuring model based on blocking flow theories, of which both are illustrated by numerical cases and compared in characteristics and application. The design of these two models is expected to eliminate or alleviate the congestion situation occurring in the logistics system, thus effectively enhancing its adaptability in the national economic mobilization process.

  11. 75 FR 34448 - Proposed CERCLA Administrative Cost Recovery Settlement; Great Lakes Container Corporation...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-17

    ... Settlement; Great Lakes Container Corporation Superfund Site, Coventry Rhode Island AGENCY: Environmental... and future response costs concerning the Great Lakes Container Corporation Superfund Site, located in...), Boston, MA 02109-3912, (617) 918-1216. Comments should reference the Great Lakes Container Corporation...

  12. Nevada, the Great Recession, and Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verstegen, Deborah A.

    2013-01-01

    The impact of the Great Recession and its aftermath has been devastating in Nevada, especially for public education. This article discusses the budget shortfalls and the impact of the economic crisis in Nevada using case study methodology. It provides a review of documents, including Governor Gibbon's proposals for the public K-12 education system…

  13. Economic perspectives on the impact of climate variability and change: A summary report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Timmerman, P.; Grima, A.P.

    1988-01-01

    A summary is presented of a collection of papers on the economic methodologies applicable to studies of the impact of global climate variability and change. The research was sponsored by the Canadian Climate program and was conducted as part of a project investigating the potential impacts on various sectors of the Canadian economy of climate warming due to the greenhouse effect. Topics of the papers include microeconomic analysis, benefit/cost analysis, input-output analysis, policy options regarding water levels in the Great Lakes, the scenario approach to assessing socio-economic sensitivities to climate change in the agri-food sector, and analysis of weather impacts. Several analytical tools are seen to be readily applicable to economic analyses of the effects of climate change, and issues of future water supply and demand are seen as central to climate impact assessment, and of particular concern to Canada

  14. History of Great Ideas: An Honors Seminar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terrill, Marty; And Others

    The History of Great Ideas is an interdisciplinary seminar course for sophomore honor students at North Arkansas Community Technical College that teaches the intellectual history of western civilization. Each semester, students study 14 ideas from science, philosophy, history, religion, sociology, and economics to discover how philosophical…

  15. Great Depression a Timely Class Topic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zehr, Mary Ann

    2009-01-01

    This article reports that a number of history and social studies teachers have found that because of the parallels they're able to draw between the current economic crisis and the Great Depression, their students are seeing that history is relevant. They're engaging more deeply in history lessons than they have in previous years. The teachers say…

  16. Snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina) as bioindicators in Canadian Areas of Concern in the Great Lakes Basin. II. Changes in hatching success and hatchling deformities in relation to persistent organic pollutants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Solla, S.R. de , [Population Assessment Unit, Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, 867 Lakeshore Road, Box 5050, Burlington, ON, L7R 4A6 (Canada); Fernie, K J; Ashpole, S [Population Assessment Unit, Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, 867 Lakeshore Road, Box 5050, Burlington, ON, L7R 4A6 (Canada)

    2008-06-15

    Hatching success and deformities in snapping turtle hatchlings (Chelydra serpentina) were evaluated using eggs collected from 14 sites in the Canadian lower Great Lakes, including Areas of Concern (AOC), between 2001 and 2004. Eggs were analyzed for PCBs, PBDEs, and pesticides. Between 2002 and 2004, hatchling deformity rates were highest in two AOCs (18.3-28.3%) compared to the reference sites (5.3-11.3%). Hatching success was poorest in three AOCs (71.3-73.1%) compared to the reference sites (86.0-92.7%). Hatching success and deformity rates were generally poorer in 2001 compared to 2002-2004, irrespective of the study location and could be due to egg handling stress in 2001. Hatching success and deformities were generally worst from the Wheatley Harbour, St. Lawrence River (Cornwall), Detroit River, and Hamilton Harbour AOCs. Associations between contaminant burdens with embryonic development were sufficiently poor that the biological relevance is questionable. Stressors not measured may have contributed to development abnormalities. - Hatching success and deformities of snapping turtle eggs varied among Great Lake Areas of Concern, but were not attributable to specific chemical exposure.

  17. Snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina) as bioindicators in Canadian Areas of Concern in the Great Lakes Basin. II. Changes in hatching success and hatchling deformities in relation to persistent organic pollutants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Solla, S.R. de; Fernie, K.J.; Ashpole, S.

    2008-01-01

    Hatching success and deformities in snapping turtle hatchlings (Chelydra serpentina) were evaluated using eggs collected from 14 sites in the Canadian lower Great Lakes, including Areas of Concern (AOC), between 2001 and 2004. Eggs were analyzed for PCBs, PBDEs, and pesticides. Between 2002 and 2004, hatchling deformity rates were highest in two AOCs (18.3-28.3%) compared to the reference sites (5.3-11.3%). Hatching success was poorest in three AOCs (71.3-73.1%) compared to the reference sites (86.0-92.7%). Hatching success and deformity rates were generally poorer in 2001 compared to 2002-2004, irrespective of the study location and could be due to egg handling stress in 2001. Hatching success and deformities were generally worst from the Wheatley Harbour, St. Lawrence River (Cornwall), Detroit River, and Hamilton Harbour AOCs. Associations between contaminant burdens with embryonic development were sufficiently poor that the biological relevance is questionable. Stressors not measured may have contributed to development abnormalities. - Hatching success and deformities of snapping turtle eggs varied among Great Lake Areas of Concern, but were not attributable to specific chemical exposure

  18. A machine learning approach for predicting the relationship between energy resources and economic development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cogoljević, Dušan; Alizamir, Meysam; Piljan, Ivan; Piljan, Tatjana; Prljić, Katarina; Zimonjić, Stefan

    2018-04-01

    The linkage between energy resources and economic development is a topic of great interest. Research in this area is also motivated by contemporary concerns about global climate change, carbon emissions fluctuating crude oil prices, and the security of energy supply. The purpose of this research is to develop and apply the machine learning approach to predict gross domestic product (GDP) based on the mix of energy resources. Our results indicate that GDP predictive accuracy can be improved slightly by applying a machine learning approach.

  19. Unilateral Measures addressing Non-Trade Concerns. A Study on WTO Consistency, Relevance of other International Agreements, Economic Effectiveness and Impact on Developing Countries of Measures concerning Non-Product-Related Processes and Production Methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van den Bossche, P.; Schrijver, N.; Faber, G.

    2007-01-01

    Over the last two years, the debate in the Netherlands on trade measures addressing non-trade concerns has focused on two important and politically sensitive issues, namely: (1) the sustainability of the large-scale production of biomass as an alternative source of energy; and (2) the production of livestock products in a manner that is consistent with animal welfare requirements. In February 2007 a report was issued on the 'Toetsingskader voor Duurzame Biomassa', the so-called Cramer Report. This report discusses the risks associated with large-scale biomass production and establishes a list of criteria for the sustainable production of biomass. These criteria reflect a broad range of non-trade concerns, including environmental protection, global warming, food security, biodiversity, economic prosperity and social welfare. The report recognizes that the implementation of the criteria (including the establishment of a certification system) will require careful consideration of the obligations of the Netherlands under EU and WTO law. Governments called upon to address non-trade concerns may do so by using different types of measures. Prominent among these are measures concerning processes and production methods of products. In the present study, these issues are examined primarily with regard to existing, proposed or still purely hypothetical measures for implementing the Cramer criteria for the sustainable production of biomass. Several other, non-energy-related issues are discussed in this report

  20. Developing a Social, Cultural and Economic Report Card for a Regional Industrial Harbour.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sean Pascoe

    Full Text Available Report cards are increasingly used to provide ongoing snap-shots of progress towards specific ecosystem health goals, particularly in coastal regions where planners need to balance competing demands for coastal resources from a range of industries. While most previous report cards focus on the biophysical components of the system, there is a growing interest in including the social and economic implications of ecosystem management to provide a greater social-ecological system understanding. Such a report card was requested on the Gladstone Harbour area in central Queensland, Australia. Gladstone Harbour adjoins the southern Great Barrier Reef, and is also a major industrial and shipping port. Balancing social, economic and environmental interests is therefore of great concern to the regional managers. While environmental benchmarking procedures are well established within Australia (and elsewhere, a method for assessing social and economic performance of coastal management is generally lacking. The key aim of this study was to develop and pilot a system for the development of a report card relating to appropriate cultural, social and economic objectives. The approach developed uses a range of multicriteria decision analysis methods to assess and combine different qualitative and quantitative measures, including the use of Bayesian Belief Networks to combine the different measures and provide an overall quantitative score for each of the key management objectives. The approach developed is readily transferable for purposes of similar assessments in other regions.

  1. Economic Effects of Russia’s Trade Liberalization: Russia’s WTO Accession and FTAs with EU and Korea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chang-Soo Lee

    2008-06-01

    's liberalization gains from the Russia-EU FTA are not so great, either. This result is in contrast to that of CEEC’s accession to the EU, where the CEEC enjoys large gains due to increases in FDI. Fourth, the economic effects of the Korea- Russia FTA on concerned countries are ignorable. Fifth, the sequencing issue regarding the Korea-Russia FTA, the FTA after Russia's WTO accession or the FTA before the accession, has no meaning. Sixth, the negative economic impacts, such as trade diversion effects, of Russia's liberalization policies on external regions are also ignorable.

  2. The Great Asian International School Gold Rush: An Economic Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Machin, Denry

    2017-01-01

    The number of international schools is growing, especially in Asia. This presents competitive challenges; most obviously for student recruitment and retention. However, demand for places at these schools is also growing. As a result, while international schooling may feel competitive, aggregate economic data show that growing numbers do not…

  3. Essays in health economics and labor economics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Palali, Ali

    2015-01-01

    The economics literature presents a growing number of studies focusing on risky health behaviors such as tobacco use or cannabis use. One of the most important characteristics of these risky health behaviors is that they harm the users and the people around the users, causing great social and

  4. Ex-Ante Economic Impact Assessment of Genetically Modified Banana Resistant to Xanthomonas Wilt in the Great Lakes Region of Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ainembabazi, John Herbert; Tripathi, Leena; Rusike, Joseph; Abdoulaye, Tahirou; Manyong, Victor

    2015-01-01

    Credible empirical evidence is scanty on the social implications of genetically modified (GM) crops in Africa, especially on vegetatively propagated crops. Little is known about the future success of introducing GM technologies into staple crops such as bananas, which are widely produced and consumed in the Great Lakes Region of Africa (GLA). GM banana has a potential to control the destructive banana Xanthomonas wilt disease. To gain a better understanding of future adoption and consumption of GM banana in the GLA countries which are yet to permit the production of GM crops; specifically, to evaluate the potential economic impacts of GM cultivars resistant to banana Xanthomonas wilt disease. The paper uses data collected from farmers, traders, agricultural extension agents and key informants in the GLA. We analyze the perceptions of the respondents about the adoption and consumption of GM crop. Economic surplus model is used to determine future economic benefits and costs of producing GM banana. On the release of GM banana for commercialization, the expected initial adoption rate ranges from 21 to 70%, while the ceiling adoption rate is up to 100%. Investment in the development of GM banana is economically viable. However, aggregate benefits vary substantially across the target countries ranging from US$ 20 million to 953 million, highest in countries where disease incidence and production losses are high, ranging from 51 to 83% of production. The findings support investment in the development of GM banana resistant to Xanthomonas wilt disease. The main beneficiaries of this technology development are farmers and consumers, although the latter benefit more than the former from reduced prices. Designing a participatory breeding program involving farmers and consumers signifies the successful adoption and consumption of GM banana in the target countries.

  5. Great Blunders?: The Great Wall of China, the Berlin Wall, and the Proposed United States/Mexico Border Fence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langerbein, Helmut

    2009-01-01

    This article presents an analysis of the Great Wall of China and the Berlin Wall which reveals that both grew from unique political, historical, geographical, cultural, and economic circumstances. The purpose of this article is to provide new arguments for a debate that all too often has been waged with emotions, polemics, and misinformation. The…

  6. Money, management, and manipulation: Environmental mobilization in the Great Lakes basin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gould, K.A.

    1991-01-01

    This document examines variations in the responses of communities to local pollution problems affecting Great Lakes water quality. The study is based on research conducted at six such communities, at sites that have been designated as 'Areas of Concern' by the International Joint Commission. The roles of economic dependency or diversity, access to scientific and political resources, community size, social visibility of pollution, and consciousness- and unconsciousness-making activities are examined as they relate to grass roots political mobilization in response to local, lake-related environmental issues. Of particular interest is the participation of national and regional environmental social movement organizations, Federal, State/Provincial and local governments, and local industry. National and regional environmental social movement organizations appear to have a greater mobilizing impact on communities that are closest to the urban centers in which these organizations are based. State and Provincial environmental agencies play a centrist role in promoting minimal remediation. Local governments typically oppose the definition of local environmental disorganization as a problem

  7. Fish tissue contamination in the mid-continental great rivers of the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    The great rivers of the central United States (Upper Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio rivers) are significant economic and cultural resources, but their ecological condition is not well quantified. The Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program for Great River Ecosystems (EMAP...

  8. Economic conversion: The US experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, R.C.

    1994-01-01

    At the end of the Second World War, our country experienced what economists have called open-quotes The Great Conversionclose quotes or open-quotes The Great Disarmament.close quotes Following that period and until the beginning of the Viet-Nam War was a time marked by economic expansion and boom. Since those years, there have been several periods during which bases were closed and defense spending was slowed. For the communities going through these transitions, again there was economic expansion. A recent survey reports that, within the last 25 years, over 100 communities redeveloped their economic base and experienced, not catastrophy as they expected, but a period of economic growth. Jobs were not lost but nearly doubled. Small businesses and educational institutions multiplied. Building starts accelerated. The survey attributed this economic growth to proper planning, increased awareness of the need for job training and education, diversification of economic activity, and an ownership on the part of the citizens in their collective economic future. The lesson for us should be that realigning our community economic priorities away from such a strong emphasis on military spending and toward a diverse and productive civilian economy brings economic health. We are relearning this lesson in the redevelopment of Lowry Air Force Base and the transition of Rocky Flats Nuclear Plant from a weapons manufacturing mission to one of cleanup

  9. Evaluating population connectivity for species of conservation concern in the American Great Plains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samuel A. Cushman; Erin L. Landguth; Curtis H. Flather

    2013-01-01

    Habitat loss and fragmentation are widely recognized as among the most important threats to global biodiversity. New analytical approaches are providing an improved ability to predict the effects of landscape change on population connectivity at vast spatial extents. This paper presents an analysis of population connectivity for three species of conservation concern [...

  10. Nitrogen Nutrition of Fruit Trees to Reconcile Productivity and Environmental Concerns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carranca, Corina; Brunetto, Gustavo; Tagliavini, Massimo

    2018-01-10

    Although perennial fruit crops represent 1% of global agricultural land, they are of a great economic importance in world trade and in the economy of many regions. The perennial woody nature of fruit trees, their physiological stages of growth, the root distribution pattern, and the presence of herbaceous vegetation in alleys make orchard systems efficient in the use and recycling of nitrogen (N). The present paper intends to review the existing literature on N nutrition of young and mature deciduous and evergreen fruit trees with special emphasis to temperate and Mediterranean climates. There are two major sources of N contributing to vegetative tree growth and reproduction: root N uptake and internal N cycling. Optimisation of the use of external and internal N sources is important for a sustainable fruit production, as N use efficiency by young and mature fruit trees is generally lower than 55% and losses of fertilizer N may occur with the consequent economic and environmental concern. Organic alternatives to mineral N fertilizer like the application of manure, compost, mulching, and cover crops are scarcely used in perennial fruit trees, in spite of the fact that society's expectations call for more sustainable production techniques and the demand for organic fruits is increasing.

  11. THE GREAT SILK ROAD BECOMES THE GREAT OIL AND GAS ROAD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. S. Zonn

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The Great Silk Road (GSR called so in the late 19th century by German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen started shaping in the 2nd century B.C. In the minds of peoples the Silk Road is a generalized symbol of trade caravan routes crossing Central Asia, connecting until the 16th century the Far East, in particular Japan, China, with Middle Asia. Appearance in the early 21st century of new independent states in Central Asia along the GSR route was a powerful impetus for revival of the ancient trade route. In September 2013 Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China, during his visit to the Central Asian countries offered the strategic concept of joint construction of the “economic corridor along the Silk Road” based on innovative cooperation in order to revive and consolidate the economic contacts among the Eurasian countries. Establishment of the modern analog of GSR, a powerful transport and pipeline corridor includes the integrated system of railroads and automobile roads, oil and gas pipelines, airlines, and sea lines.

  12. The Great Recession and risk for child abuse and neglect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, William; Waldfogel, Jane; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne

    2017-01-01

    This paper examines the association between the Great Recession and four measures of the risk for maternal child abuse and neglect: (1) maternal physical aggression; (2) maternal psychological aggression; (3) physical neglect by mothers; and (4) supervisory/exposure neglect by mothers. It draws on rich longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a longitudinal birth cohort study of families in 20 U.S. cities (N = 3,177; 50% African American, 25% Hispanic; 22% non-Hispanic white; 3% other). The study collected information for the 9-year follow-up survey before, during, and after the Great Recession (2007-2010). Interview dates were linked to two macroeconomic measures of the Great Recession: the national Consumer Sentiment Index and the local unemployment rate. Also included are a wide range of socio-demographic controls, as well as city fixed effects and controls for prior parenting. Results indicate that the Great Recession was associated with increased risk of child abuse but decreased risk of child neglect. Households with social fathers present may have been particularly adversely affected. Results also indicate that economic uncertainty during the Great Recession, as measured by the Consumer Sentiment Index and the unemployment rate, had direct effects on the risk of abuse or neglect, which were not mediated by individual-level measures of economic hardship or poor mental health.

  13. Studies Concerning the Economic Efficiency and Quality of the Vegetal Sausages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudiu Dan Salagean

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of performed research aimed to establish the influence of protein supplements on the quality and economic efficiency in the processing of a certain semi-smoked sausage assortment using two experimental processing technologies: with 3% soy protein derivatives as supplements and 100% soy protein derivatives as vegetal raw materials. The results revealed that, from an economical point of view, the vegetal processing technology (with exclusively vegetal raw materials was more efficiently than the supplemented processing technology (with protein derivatives as supplements and from qualitatively point of view, the obtained values have been in accordance with the in force STAS-es.

  14. The energy outlook for Russia and the dialogue between the European Union and Russian concerning energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laponche, B.

    2003-01-01

    The discussions concerning energy taking place between the European Union and Russia are aimed at setting up a permanent partnership in the energy sector in order to ensure that the exploitation of Russian energy resources makes it possible to guarantee the economic development of Russia while at the same time supplying sufficient energy exports to the European Union. The outlook for Russia's energy strategy in the years up to 2020 are based on a rate of growth in GDP of 5 % per year, combined with structural changes in economic activities and a vigorous energy efficiency policy, leading to a significant reduction in energy intensity. The low level of growth in demand resulting from this, combined with an increase in production and a reduction in the percentage of natural gas in electricity production guarantees a high level of potential for oil and gas exports in 2020, Compatible with the energy importation requirements of the future European Union and security of supply. The energy outlook for Russia presented by the International Energy Agency (IEA) are based on much lower economic growth figures and on a limited reduction in energy intensity. The percentage accounted for by natural gas in the production of electricity remains high. The IEA assessment is also based on a major increase in the production capacities for hydrocarbons in Russia while at the same time stressing the importance of the financial effort required to achieve this. Like the Russian outlook, it also identifies a major potential for the exportation of oil and natural gas by 2020. The convergence of these two outlooks concerning the future energy exporting capacity of Russia are seriously overshadowed by the fact that they differ greatly concerning their hypotheses and results with regard to domestic consumption and the production of energy. A 'warning scenario' combining the most similar hypotheses from both outlooks demonstrates the uncertain accompanying them. This analysis highlights the

  15. The Great Depression: A Textbook Case of Problems with American History Textbooks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Steven L.; Rose, Stephen A.

    1983-01-01

    The 16 US history textbooks reviewed failed to incorporate economists' research on the causes of the Great Depression and consistently presented information that the economics profession has rejected. Strategies that social studies educators might adopt to improve the quality of economic analysis in textbooks is suggested. (Author/RM)

  16. Scottish economic bulletin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-01-01

    The evidence of recovery in the United Kingdom (UK) economy, which had tentatively emerged in the second half of 1992, became stronger in the first half of this year. Examination of the components of total final demand shows that the UK has a longstanding preference to consume rather than to save and invest. Government policy in the 1990s will seek to create the conditions in which this balance can be altered. Given that consumer spending accounts for over half of final demand, the behaviour of the consumer remains a key determinant of the timing and strength of economic recovery. Data for the service sector in Scotland show that employment levels have held up much better than in Great Britain as a whole, although there is some evidence of the later impact of the recession on Scotland. The short-term prospects for the Scottish economy continue to be critically dependent on the export sector, given the depreciation of sterling since the suspension of exchange rate mechanism (ERM) membership, the fall in short-term UK interest rates and the continued improvement in relative manufacturing unit costs. The principal worry concerns the demand prospects in Scotland's major export markets, especially in Europe. Most independent economic forecasters expect that gross domestic product (GDP) growth in Scotland will be below that of the UK in 1993 and 1994. However, the unemployment rate is expected to remain lower in Scotland than in the UK over this period. (author)

  17. Behavior Analytic Consultation for Academic Referral Concerns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dufrene, Brad A.; Zoder-Martell, Kimberly A.; Dieringe, Shannon Titus; Labrot, Zachary

    2016-01-01

    Applied behavior analysis provides a technology of human behavior that demonstrates great potential for improving socially important outcomes for individuals. School-based consultation may provide a vehicle for delivering applied behavior analysis services in schools to address academic referral concerns. In this article, we propose that…

  18. Qualitative Economics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fast, Michael; Clark II, Woodrow W

                         This book is about science -- specifically, the science of economics. Or lack thereof is more accurate. The building of any science, let alone economics, is grounded in the understanding of what is beneath the "surface" of economics. Science, and hence economics, should...... be concerned with formulating ideas that express theories which produce descriptions of how to understand phenomenon and real world experiences.                       Economics must become a science, because the essence of economics in terms of human actions, group interactions and communities are in need...... of scientific inquiry. Academics and scholars need a scientific perspective that can hypothesize, theorize document, understand and analyze human dynamics from the individual to more societal interactions. And that is what qualitative economics does; it can make economics into becoming a science. The economic...

  19. 3 CFR - National Policy for the Oceans, Our Coasts, and the Great Lakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... sustainable oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes resources for the benefit of this and future generations. Yet, the... conservation, economic activity, user conflict, and sustainable use of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes... publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.BARACK OBAMATHE WHITE HOUSE, Washington, June 12, 2009. ...

  20. Potential future impacts of climatic change on the Great Plains

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smit, B.

    1991-01-01

    A synopsis is provided of approaches to impact studies in the Great Plains, findings from studies of future impacts are summarized, and opportunities for enhancing understanding of future impacts are discussed. Potential impacts of climate change on agriculture, water resources, forestry, recreation/tourism, and energy are summarized. Impact analyses need to look more rigorously at variability in climate, the probabilities of various climatic conditions, and the sensitivity of social and economic activities to climatic variability. Most economic impact studies have assumed no adaptive behavior on the part of economic decision makers. Credible impact assessments require an improved understanding of the sensitivity and adaptability of sectors to climatic conditions, particularly variability. The energy sector in the Great Plains region is likely to be more sensitive to political developments in the Middle East than to climatic variability and change. Speculation and analysis of climate impacts have focused on supply conditions and demands, yet the sector is more keenly sensitive to policy implications of climatic change, such as the potential for fossil fuel taxes or other legislative or pricing constraints. 28 refs

  1. The Great Recession and health risks in African American youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Edith; Miller, Gregory E; Yu, Tianyi; Brody, Gene H

    2016-03-01

    In the present study, we investigated associations of macro-economic conditions - the Great Recession - with cellular epigenetic aging, allostatic load, and self-reported health, in a group that experiences significant health disparities, African Americans. A sample of 330 African American adolescents in Georgia was followed from pre-recession (2007, M age=16.6) to post-recession (2010, M age=19.3). Economic data were collected in both 2007 and 2010. Three groups were formed to represent economic trajectories across the period of the Great Recession (stable low economic hardship, downward mobility, and stable high economic hardship). At age 19, measures of cellular epigenetic aging (derived from leukocyte DNA methylation profiles, reflecting the disparity between a person's biological and chronological age), allostatic load (composite of blood pressure, C reactive protein, cortisol, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and body mass index), and adolescent self-report of health were obtained. Linear trend analyses documented significant differences across all outcomes. The more time adolescents spent under economic hardship, the higher their epigenetic aging [estimate=1.421, SE=0.466, p=.002] and allostatic load [estimate=1.151, SE=0.375, p=.002] scores, and the worse their self-report of health [estimate=4.957, SE=1.800, p=.006]. Specific group comparisons revealed that adolescents in the downward mobility group had higher levels of allostatic load than adolescents in the stable low hardship group [p<.05]. Overall, these findings suggest that the health profiles of African American youth may in part be shaped by environmental macro-economic societal conditions, and that effects on biological markers can be detected relatively early in life. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. SOCIAL PRACTICES OF UTILITY SPHERE: CONCERNING THE ISSUE OF SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE CONTEXT OF CONTEMPORARY REFORMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalia Timofeevna Oboimova

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available The paper covers the issues of market members’ social responsibilities when a particular economic sector is being reformed, house and public utility sphere being an example of such sector. The author conceives both the prerequisites for sustainable development of an economic sector (utility sphere being an example and issues concerning consumer protection system that is to eliminate rendering of nonconforming services as well as supplier protection system aimed against non-payers. The paper considers social and economic practices that were systematized after their content had been modified in a way. The author analyzes the factors that are significant for both the process of building up an entity’s profile and employees, provided the specific characteristics of house and public utility sphere have been taken in consideration. The author’s conclusion is that in this case citizens become more aware of house and public utility sphere social practices. As a result, social awareness of such practices gets enhanced. The methodological method can be applied to study the issue.The scientific aim of the paper is to consider and establish grounds of social practices when a particular economic sector is being reformed and institutional relations are being transformed.The technique of the work performed is based criterion identification that might contribute to establishing a basis of various house and public utility services.In order to get the results a group of theoretical and empirical methods have been resorted to: analysis, synthesis, dialectical method that both showed inconsistency and variability of social and economic processes and juxtaposed the similarities and differences; comparative method, monitoring and method of diagrams.          The results of the work performed can be defined as the prerequisites for sustainable development of both house and public utility sphere and entities’ social and economic

  3. Is our economic model compatible with sustainable development?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Røpke, Inge

    2003-01-01

    The paper concerns the contradictions between sustainability and the present economic growth model. The discussion relates to the work of Jan Otto Andersson.......The paper concerns the contradictions between sustainability and the present economic growth model. The discussion relates to the work of Jan Otto Andersson....

  4. Food Safety Concerns

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    HUYONG

    2004-01-01

    In China, there is an old saying:food is the first necessity of humans. The main concern of the Chinese used to be the security of the food supply rather than the safety of the food itself. However,after a long time fighting food shortages,China became self-sufficient in food in 1995. At this time, the country began for the first time to regulate food safety. Yet China has still not established a legal systern efficient in ensuring this safety. Many problems are rooted in the administration regime and China's priority of economic development.

  5. Economic integration and cross-border economic organizations: The case of San Diego-Tijuana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jorge Eduardo Mendoza Cota

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The economic integration between the United States and Mexico has affected the economic, political and social relations in the border region. The paper seeks to relate the increasing economic integration and business cycles of the economies of San Diego and Tijuana to the development of both national and binational economic organizations in the border region. The methodology of analysis uses both statistical estimations of the economic integration of San Diego and Tijuana and semi-structured interviews of economic organizations to analyze the increasing economic integration and the role and achievements of the cross-border economic organizations. The results showed that cross-border cooperation is predominately controlled by federal and state governments on both sides of the border. However, the main achievements of cross-border economic cooperation have been accomplished by local private organizations. The perspective of further local economic development greatly depends on both the possibility of increased involvement of federal governments and the growing encouragement of regional organizations.

  6. [Trust in organizations concerned with risks of the Great East Japan Earthquake].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakayachi, Kazuya; Kudo, Daisuke; Ozaki, Taku

    2014-06-01

    This study investigated the levels of public trust in organizations associated with the Great East Japan Earthquake. In Study 1 (N = 639), the levels of trust in eight organizations as well as the determinants of trust--perceived salient value similarity (SVS), ability, and motivation--were measured twice, first immediately after the earthquake and then a year later. The results indicated that the trust levels for six of the eight organizations had been preserved, supporting the double asymmetric effect of trust. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that SVS explained trust more when the organization had been less trusted. Trust in the organization explains well the perceived reduction of the target risk. The results of SEM in Study 2 (N = 1,030) replicated those of Study 1, suggesting the stability of the explanatory power of the determinants of trust. Implications of the study for risk management practices are discussed.

  7. Harriet Martineau: Principal Economic Educator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Donnell, Margaret G.

    Although she encountered criticism of her work, Harriet Martineau was the most widely read economics educator of 19th century Great Britain. Martineau wrote for the masses; she was convinced that it was each citizen's civic duty to learn economics. She relied on the body of knowledge which existed in her day: Mill's "Elements of Political…

  8. Income inequality: Implications and relevant economic policies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arestis Philip

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this contribution is to discuss closely the implications of income inequality and the economic policies to tackle it, especially so in view of inequality being one of the main causes of the 2007/2008 international financial crisis and the “great recession” that subsequently emerged. Wealth inequality is also important in this respect, but the focus is on income inequality. Ever since the financial crisis and the subsequent “great recession”, inequality of income, and wealth, has increased and the demand for economic policy initiatives to produce a more equal distribution of income and wealth has become more urgent. Such reduction would help to increase the level of economic activity as has been demonstrated again more recently. A number of economic policy initiatives for this purpose will be the focus of this contribution.

  9. Great Lakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edsall, Thomas A.; Mac, Michael J.; Opler, Paul A.; Puckett Haecker, Catherine E.; Doran, Peter D.

    1998-01-01

    population.The wild plants and animals and the natural systems that support them in the Great Lakes region are valuable resources of considerable local, regional, and national interest. They are also, in part, transboundary resources that we share with our Canadian neighbors to the north. The way these resources are changing over time is inadequately known and is a cause for concern for resource users and for those charged with managing and protecting these unique and valuable resources. This chapter describes the wild plants and animals and the systems that support them in the Great Lakes region; addresses their condition; and points out the gaps in our knowledge about them that, if filled, would aid in their conservation and appropriate use.

  10. Energy, economy and development (EED) triangle: Concerns for India

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chaturvedi, A.; Samdarshi, S.K.

    2011-01-01

    In this paper we discuss issues involving energy security with economic growth and development that brings out (i) the dimension of physical security alternative, (ii) framework for a pan South East Asian platform to support energy security and (iii) requirement of promoting regional energy cooperation and specific energy peace initiatives. Sustaining projected economic growth rate coupled with energy security in future is a concern for all developing countries like India. The energy security of these nations is threatened by the disruption of energy supplies by ongoing energy terrorism and geopolitical conflicts in the region. India's geo-strategic position and increasing energy dependence raises concerns for its energy security. We discuss energy security, examine factors and approaches to attempt the energy security in the light of economic growth and development. - Highlights: → India's perspective on evolving energy security concepts and risks analysed. → Model in the form of EED triangle proposed. → New potential energy security alternatives proposed in the light of the model.

  11. Energy, economy and development (EED) triangle: Concerns for India

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chaturvedi, A. [Department of Energy, Tezpur University, Tezpur 784028, Assam (India); Samdarshi, S.K., E-mail: drsksamdarshi@rediffmail.com [Department of Energy, Tezpur University, Tezpur 784028, Assam (India)

    2011-08-15

    In this paper we discuss issues involving energy security with economic growth and development that brings out (i) the dimension of physical security alternative, (ii) framework for a pan South East Asian platform to support energy security and (iii) requirement of promoting regional energy cooperation and specific energy peace initiatives. Sustaining projected economic growth rate coupled with energy security in future is a concern for all developing countries like India. The energy security of these nations is threatened by the disruption of energy supplies by ongoing energy terrorism and geopolitical conflicts in the region. India's geo-strategic position and increasing energy dependence raises concerns for its energy security. We discuss energy security, examine factors and approaches to attempt the energy security in the light of economic growth and development. - Highlights: > India's perspective on evolving energy security concepts and risks analysed. > Model in the form of EED triangle proposed. > New potential energy security alternatives proposed in the light of the model.

  12. Water Availability and Use Pilot-A multiscale assessment in the U.S. Great Lakes Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reeves, Howard W.

    2011-01-01

    Beginning in 2005, water availability and use were assessed for the U.S. part of the Great Lakes Basin through the Great Lakes Basin Pilot of a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) national assessment of water availability and use. The goals of a national assessment of water availability and use are to clarify our understanding of water-availability status and trends and improve our ability to forecast the balance between water supply and demand for future economic and environmental uses. This report outlines possible approaches for full-scale implementation of such an assessment. As such, the focus of this study was on collecting, compiling, and analyzing a wide variety of data to define the storage and dynamics of water resources and quantify the human demands on water in the Great Lakes region. The study focused on multiple spatial and temporal scales to highlight not only the abundant regional availability of water but also the potential for local shortages or conflicts over water. Regional studies provided a framework for understanding water resources in the basin. Subregional studies directed attention to varied aspects of the water-resources system that would have been difficult to assess for the whole region because of either data limitations or time limitations for the project. The study of local issues and concerns was motivated by regional discussions that led to recent legislative action between the Great Lakes States and regional cooperation with the Canadian Great Lakes Provinces. The multiscale nature of the study findings challenges water-resource managers and the public to think about regional water resources in an integrated way and to understand how future changes to the system-driven by human uses, climate variability, or land-use change-may be accommodated by informed water-resources management.

  13. How the Economy Influences Pedagogy: The Great Recession's Influence on Elementary Teaching Practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sawyer, Amanda G.

    2017-01-01

    From 2007 to 2009, the United States experienced one of the greatest economic declines reported in the previous decades, known as the Great Recession (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012). While a great deal of media attention focused on the immediate financial effects of the recession, little discussion was made about the influence of this crisis…

  14. Alexander the Great's relationship with alcohol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liappas, J A; Lascaratos, J; Fafouti, S; Christodoulou, G N

    2003-05-01

    This study sought to clarify if Alexander the Great indulged pathologically in alcohol and whether it contributed to his death. The texts of the historians Diodorus of Sicily, Plutarch, Arrian, Curtius Rufus, Athenaeus, Aelian and Justin were studied, with their information concerning wine consumption by Macedonians, and especially Alexander, and were evaluated. The surviving historical texts, all later than Alexander's epoch, are based on a series of contemporary histories and especially on the 'Royal Journals', an official diary written in the imperial court. Alexander consumed large quantities of undiluted wine periodically, reaching pathological intoxication. However, the existing data do not provide convincing evidence that Alexander the Great manifested abuse of or dependence on alcohol according to DSM-IV or ICD-10 criteria and it seems unlikely that alcohol was involved in his untimely death.

  15. Theory of Economic Development (Secondary Stage)

    OpenAIRE

    Mashkoor, Aasim; Ahmed, Ovais

    2015-01-01

    This is a secondary stage of theory of economic development. This research study is covering the secondary phase of development which rules the tactical plans of the main strategy. In this stage, the social and economical demands varies from country to country and we have developed the theory according to the Pakistani economic conditions. It requires great a lot of technical and strategic analysis to chose the accurate plans accordingly.

  16. Saving clauses in international contracts concerning the nuclear fuel cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Virole, J.; Roubin, J.

    1983-01-01

    This paper concerns saving clauses in international contracts relating to the fuel cycle. It deals in particular with economic upheavals affecting those contracts and the usual clauses to protect the financial interests of the co-contractors. The paper also examines such economic upheavals in the context of clauses intended to preserve the contracts. (NEA) [fr

  17. The future of health economics: The potential of behavioral and experimental economics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fredrik Hansen

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Health care systems around the globe are facing great challenges. The demand for health care is increasing due to the continuous development of new medical technologies, changing demographics, increasing income levels, and greater expectations from patients. The possibilities and willingness to expand health care resources, however, are limited. Consequently, health care organizations are increasingly required to take economic restrictions into account, and there is an urgent need for improved efficiency. It is reasonable to ask whether the health economics field of today is prepared and equipped to help us meet these challenges. Our aim with this article is twofold: to introduce the fields of behavioral and experimental economics and to then identify and characterize health economics areas where these two fields have a promising potential. We also discuss the advantages of a pluralistic view in health economics research, and we anticipate a dynamic future for health economics.

  18. Changes in the structure and relations of property in the Great Britain nuclear power

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rumyantsev, V.V.

    1990-01-01

    Analysis of nuclear power development in the Great Britain is given. Currently it is reoriented to a wide application of PWR reactors instead of gas cooled ones, their economic indices being incapable of providing sufficient competitiveness on the British market. Reasons and state of affairs in denationalizing nuclear power, economic and financial difficulties connected with the realization of this politico-economic procedure are reported

  19. Analysis of the economic-financial viability of the aeolian energy faced to the new context of the power sector; Analise da viabilidade economico-financeira da energia eolica diante do novo contexto do setor eletrico

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abreu, Virginia Brasil [Companhia Hidro-Eletrica de Sao Francisco (CHESF), Recife, PE (Brazil)], e-mail: virginia@chesf.gov.br; Oliveira, Marcos Roberto Gois de [Universidade de Pernambuco (UPE), Recife, PE (Brazil)], e-mail: mrgois@hotmail.com

    2008-07-01

    This paper analyses the economical-financial viability of a hypothetic aeolian project at the Itaparica, Bahia, Brazil. Brazil presents a great aeolian potential, particularly at the Northeastern region, where various aeolian enterprises had been implanted due to favorable conditions of the wind in that region. However, for the increasing the aeolian generation it is necessary that studies have to be done concerning to the technical viability and, specially the economical-financial viability, because the investors need reliable subsides for the decision making.

  20. The Lisbon Strategy and the alignment of economic and social concerns

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Triantafillou, Peter; Hansen, Magnus

    2011-01-01

    -development and employment is seen to go hand-in-hand with economic innovation and competitiveness. This alignment, which is expressed through the worshipping of the Nordic welfare model in general and the notion of flexicurity in particular, seems to have a strong depoliticizing effect....

  1. Ischemic stroke risk factors during Greek economic crisis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katsanos, Aristeidis H; Fiolaki, Aidonio; Markou, Sofia; Markoula, Sofia; Kosmidou, Maria; Kyritsis, Athanassios P; Giannopoulos, Sotirios

    2016-02-01

    The impact of Greece's economic crisis on healthcare is of great concern. The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of economic crisis on the prevention of cerebral ischemic events. Retrospective analysis of patients with ischemic stroke (IS) or transient ischemic attack (TIA) admitted to a tertiary neurological department in northwestern Greece during the period 2008-2014. Using 2011 as the transitional year IS/TIA patients were dichotomized according to their admission date in two subgroups: the "before economic crisis" subgroup and the "after economic crisis" subgroup. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify predictor variables of statin/antihypertensive pretreatment. Patients admitted after the economic crisis outbreak (mean age: 57.6 ± 13.5 years) were found to have lower waist periphery measurements (p = 0.001), lower incidence of diabetes (p = 0.028), hyperlipidemia (p = 0.002) and metabolic syndrome(p crisis (mean age: 59.6 ± 11.1 years). However, between the two subgroups were no significant differences in the rates of untreated patients with hyperlipidemia (p = 0.189) and/or hypertension (p = 0.313). Even though statin pretreatment prior to stroke onset was found to be reduced during economic crisis compared to the period before the crisis, (OR = 0.58, 95%CI: 0.34-0.95, p = 0.032), this association did not retain statistical significance in the multivariate logistic regression analysis (OR = 1.69, 95%CI = 0.83-3.42, p = 0.143). Our study supports that at present financial crisis has not significantly affected the prevention of cerebrovascular events in the citizens of a provincial city area. Data from other regions and time-periods are needed for the final verdict. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Novel surveillance of psychological distress during the great recession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayers, John W; Althouse, Benjamin M; Allem, Jon-Patrick; Childers, Matthew A; Zafar, Waleed; Latkin, Carl; Ribisl, Kurt M; Brownstein, John S

    2012-12-15

    Economic stressors have been retrospectively associated with net population increases in nonspecific psychological distress (PD). However, no sentinels exist to evaluate contemporaneous associations. Aggregate Internet search query surveillance was used to monitor population changes in PD around the United States' Great Recession. Monthly PD query trends were compared with unemployment, underemployment, homes in delinquency and foreclosure, median home value or sale prices, and S&P 500 trends for 2004-2010. Time series analyses, where economic indicators predicted PD one to seven months into the future, were performed in 2011. PD queries surpassed 1,000,000 per month, of which 300,000 may be attributable to the Great Recession. A one percentage point increase in mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures was associated with a 16% (95%CI, 9-24) increase in PD queries one-month, and 11% (95%CI, 3-18) four months later, in reference to a pre-Great Recession mean. Unemployment and underemployment had similar associations half and one-quarter the intensity. "Anxiety disorder", "what is depression", "signs of depression", "depression symptoms", and "symptoms of depression" were the queries exhibiting the strongest associations with mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures, unemployment or underemployment. Housing prices and S&P 500 trends were not associated with PD queries. A non-traditional measure of PD was used. It is unclear if actual clinically significant depression or anxiety increased during the Great Recession. Alternative explanations for strong associations between the Great Recession and PD queries, such as media, were explored and rejected. Because the economy is constantly changing, this work not only provides a snapshot of recent associations between the economy and PD queries but also a framework and toolkit for real-time surveillance going forward. Health resources, clinician screening patterns, and policy debate may be informed by changes in PD query

  3. Economic Modelling in Institutional Economic Theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wadim Strielkowski

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Our paper is centered around the formation of theory of institutional modelling that includes principles and ideas reflecting the laws of societal development within the framework of institutional economic theory. We scrutinize and discuss the scientific principles of this institutional modelling that are increasingly postulated by the classics of institutional theory and find their way into the basics of the institutional economics. We propose scientific ideas concerning the new innovative approaches to institutional modelling. These ideas have been devised and developed on the basis of the results of our own original design, as well as on the formalisation and measurements of economic institutions, their functioning and evolution. Moreover, we consider the applied aspects of the institutional theory of modelling and employ them in our research for formalizing our results and maximising the practical outcome of our paper. Our results and findings might be useful for the researchers and stakeholders searching for the systematic and comprehensive description of institutional level modelling, the principles involved in this process and the main provisions of the institutional theory of economic modelling.

  4. Economic fables

    OpenAIRE

    Moran, Shane

    2010-01-01

    I had the good fortune to grow up in a wonderful area of Jerusalem, surrounded by a diverse range of people: Rabbi Meizel, the communist Sala Marcel, my widowed Aunt Hannah, and the intellectual Yaacovson. As far as I'm concerned, the opinion of such people is just as authoritative for making social and economic decisions as the opinion of an expert using a model. Part memoir, part crash-course in economic theory, this deeply engaging book by one of the world's foremost economists looks at ...

  5. Revitalising the public open spaces in the CDB of Pietermaritzburg to immortalize a great place

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Ndaba, DN

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available , social and economic node with a rich cultural heritage and a CBD that is the administrative central authority of the province. It’s internationally acclaimed competitions and sports give it global appeal. Great cities are also made by great public places...

  6. Alcohol use during the great recession of 2008-2009.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bor, Jacob; Basu, Sanjay; Coutts, Adam; McKee, Martin; Stuckler, David

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study was to assess changes in alcohol use in the USA during the Great Recession. Drinking participation, drinking frequency, drinking intensity, total alcohol consumption and frequency of binge drinking were assessed in a nationally representative sample of 2,050,431 US women and men aged 18 and older, interviewed between 2006 and 2010. The prevalence of any alcohol use significantly declined during the economic recession, from 52.0% in 2006-2007 to 51.6% in 2008-2009 (P Great Recession there was an increase in abstention from alcohol and a rise in frequent binging.

  7. Does Sympathy Motivate Prosocial Behaviour in Great Apes?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liebal, Katja; Vaish, Amrisha; Haun, Daniel; Tomasello, Michael

    2014-01-01

    Prosocial behaviours such as helping, comforting, or sharing are central to human social life. Because they emerge early in ontogeny, it has been proposed that humans are prosocial by nature and that from early on empathy and sympathy motivate such behaviours. The emerging question is whether humans share these abilities to feel with and for someone with our closest relatives, the great apes. Although several studies demonstrated that great apes help others, little is known about their underlying motivations. This study addresses this issue and investigates whether four species of great apes (Pongo pygmaeus, Gorilla gorilla, Pan troglodytes, Pan paniscus) help a conspecific more after observing the conspecific being harmed (a human experimenter steals the conspecific’s food) compared to a condition where no harming occurred. Results showed that in regard to the occurrence of prosocial behaviours, only orangutans, but not the African great apes, help others when help is needed, contrasting prior findings on chimpanzees. However, with the exception of one population of orangutans that helped significantly more after a conspecific was harmed than when no harm occurred, prosocial behaviour in great apes was not motivated by concern for others. PMID:24416212

  8. The Crisis in Economic Theory: A Review Essay

    OpenAIRE

    Hoover, Kevin D.

    2015-01-01

    The Great Recession and the financial crisis of 2007-09 prompted ca lls for fundamental reforms of economic theory. The role of theory in economics and in recent economic events is considered in light of two recen t books: the sociologist Richard Swedberg's The Art of Social Theory and the economist André Orléan's The Empire of Value: A New Foundation for Economics.

  9. Boundaries of Welfare between the EU and Member States during the ‘Great Recession’

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    de la Porte, Caroline; Pochet, Philippe

    2014-01-01

    -state reform changes over time in line with socio-economic conditions as well as shifting political-party governmental coalitions in the Council. We argue that in particular the economically oriented actors, including the European Central Bank, have been successful in the context of the Great Recession. More...... recently, social priorities around notions such as social investment are becoming more central in the EU debate on economic and social policy....

  10. Working Life Expectancy at Age 50 in the United States and the Impact of the Great Recession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dudel, Christian; Myrskylä, Mikko

    2017-12-01

    A key concern about population aging is the decline in the size of the economically active population. Working longer is a potential remedy. However, little is known about the length of working life and how it relates to macroeconomic conditions. We use the U.S. Health and Retirement Study for 1992-2011 and multistate life tables to analyze working life expectancy at age 50 and study the impact of the Great Recession in 2007-2009. Despite declines of one to two years following the recession, in 2008-2011, American men aged 50 still spent 13 years, or two-fifths of their remaining life, working; American women of the same age spent 11 years, or one-third of their remaining life, in employment. Although educational differences in working life expectancy have been stable since the mid-1990s, racial differences started changing after the onset of the Great Recession. Our results show that although Americans generally work longer than people in other countries, considerable subpopulation heterogeneity exists. We also find that the time trends are fluctuating, which may prove troublesome as the population ages. Policies targeting the weakest performing groups may be needed to increase the total population trends.

  11. The Economics of Starvation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stahl, Rune Møller

    2016-01-01

    Stahl investigates the role of liberal economics in the formulation of the disastrous famine policy of the British colonial administration in nineteenth-century India, where millions of Indians starved to death in a series of famines. The chapter examines the influential debates around the Great....... The hegemonic position of free trade ideas and economic liberalism allowed for proponents of a hard laissez-faire line to mobilize considerable intellectual resources, from Adam Smith to Ricardo, to overcome humanitarian critiques....

  12. the theological responses to the socio -economic activities that ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2010-06-02

    Jun 2, 2010 ... The RDP recognizes the economic value of water and the environment, and advocates an economically, environmentally .... other withdrawal uses combined' (Finch 1957:394). ... cause great disruptions in agricultural areas.

  13. Concepts Concerning 'Disease\\' Causation, Control, and the current ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    There is an ethical necessity that doctors understand the complex social, political, environmental and economic dynamics involved in infectious disease outbreaks. This article discusses some important concepts concerning 'disease' causation and control with specific reference to the current cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe ...

  14. 16 CFR 0.18 - Bureau of Economics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 16 Commercial Practices 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Bureau of Economics. 0.18 Section 0.18 Commercial Practices FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ORGANIZATION, PROCEDURES AND RULES OF PRACTICE ORGANIZATION § 0.18 Bureau of Economics. The bureau aids and advises the Commission concerning the economic aspects of...

  15. Ecological economics and institutional change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krall, Lisi; Klitgaard, Kent

    2011-02-01

    Ecological economics remains unfinished in its effort to provide a framework for transforming the economy so that it is compatible with biophysical limits. Great strides have been made in valuing natural capital and ecosystem services and recognizing the need to limit the scale of economic activity, but the question of how to effectively transform the economy to limit the scale of economic activity remains unclear. To gain clarity about the institutional changes necessary to limit the scale of economic activity, it is essential that ecological economics understands the limitations of its neoclassical roots and expands its theoretical framework to include how markets are embedded in social and institutional structures. This has long been the domain of institutional economics and heterodox political economy. © 2011 New York Academy of Sciences.

  16. Problems of accounting, cost concerns and economic analysis in the mining enrichment industry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Slabinskiy, V T

    1980-01-01

    Mining enrichment enterprises of the ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy, coal and chemical industry have much in common in the area of technology of production, technical base, organization of labor and production. This in turn presupposes the possible development of a common procedure of accounting of expenditures for production, calculation of net cost of output and analysis of production-economic activity of enterprises. Based on scientific research and generalization of advanced experience of practical workers, means of improvement of economic operation in mining enrichment enterprises are outlined according to increasing demands of production control. An outline of analytic accounting of expenditures which provides for multitarget use of information has been developed: for organization of operational control of the formulation of net cost of output, determination of the results of self support activities of structural subdivisions of an enterprise, computation of the efficiency of scientific and technical progress. Experience of use of economic and mathematical methods in computers for this purpose is discussed.

  17. BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS AND THE NEED OF PSYCHOLOGY IN ECONOMIC RESEARCH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreea GRADINARU

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The turning point in economic science has now come, marked especially by triggering the biggest crisis since the Great Depression of '29-'33, has called into question the need to reconsider the status of economic science and finding ways in which it can increase its practical foundations. In the elaboration of this study I’ve took into account the fact that beyond any abstract, formal and mathematical model, economics is a science, having the man in its center. Furthermore, every economic process is based on the human being. But the way individuals behave does not follow precisely the pattern predicted by classical and neoclassical models, but most of the time they are making decisions under the influence of psychological factors. Starting from these assumptions I considered important to highlight a real need for psychology in economic research. Therefore, the aim of this work is exclusively theoretical meant to show that the study of psychological factors is necessary in economic research, because it allows a better explanation of the economic problems and lead to obtaining results closer to reality than those who only take into consideration economic factors. In this way I appealed to behavioral economics. This represents a new trend of economic thinking that reunites psychology with economy. The thing that I observed after finishing the study is that behavioral economics can increase the explanatory power of economics by providing more realistic psychological bases, because human behavior is not only the subject matter of economics but psychology too.

  18. Using quantile regression to examine health care expenditures during the Great Recession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jie; Vargas-Bustamante, Arturo; Mortensen, Karoline; Thomas, Stephen B

    2014-04-01

    To examine the association between the Great Recession of 2007-2009 and health care expenditures along the health care spending distribution, with a focus on racial/ethnic disparities. Secondary data analyses of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (2005-2006 and 2008-2009). Quantile multivariate regressions are employed to measure the different associations between the economic recession of 2007-2009 and health care spending. Race/ethnicity and interaction terms between race/ethnicity and a recession indicator are controlled to examine whether minorities encountered disproportionately lower health spending during the economic recession. The Great Recession was significantly associated with reductions in health care expenditures at the 10th-50th percentiles of the distribution, but not at the 75th-90th percentiles. Racial and ethnic disparities were more substantial at the lower end of the health expenditure distribution; however, on average the reduction in expenditures was similar for all race/ethnic groups. The Great Recession was also positively associated with spending on emergency department visits. This study shows that the relationship between the Great Recession and health care spending varied along the health expenditure distribution. More variability was observed in the lower end of the health spending distribution compared to the higher end. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

  19. The economics of fertility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loraine, J A

    1982-01-01

    The statement that economics and fertility are closely interrelated is a truism. The classical economists--Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, Karl Marx, John Stuart Mill and John Maynard Keynes appreciated this fact, and their reviews are recounted and their prescience is assessed. Adam Smith (1723-1790) was primarily concerned with the desire of humankind to better his/her material conditions. Although he did not put forward a specific population policy, the tenet of his writing is pronatalist. Economic advantages would accrue to parents by the production of many children. Yet, underneath Smith's optimism, there was an apocalyptic vision of the distant future, i.e., the "steady state" when resources would be depleted or near exhaustion, when capital accumulation would have ceased, and living standards would be dropping vertiginously. In his 1st "Essay on Population" Malthus maintained that "the power of population is infinitely greater than the power of the earth to produce subsistence of men." Malthus can be complimented on his prescience. There is little question that the planet of today is grossly overpopulated and that a great gulf exists between numbers of people and their aspirations and the resources which the earth can provide for them. Malthus was particularly concerned about the population food dilemma, and that is still much in evidence in 1982. 2 concomitants of overpopulation--excessive urbanization and joblessness--could not be foreseen by Malthus. Marx did not deny the basic tenet promulgated by Malthus but to him this was simply an artifact of capitalist society which required "enormous reserves of proletarians" in order to maintain its odius system. Officially Communist governments remain in a Marxist straitjacket regarding the population issue. Mills approach was strongly antinatalist; he saw little need for an increase in human numbers. Mills was concerned that because of unlimited population growth and wealth the earth would lose much of its

  20. The impact of the great recession on community-based mental health organizations: an analysis of top managers' perceptions of the economic downturn's effects and adaptive strategies used to manage the consequences in Ohio.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sweeney, Helen Anne; Knudsen, Kraig

    2014-04-01

    The Great Recession of 2007-2009 adversely affected the financial stability of the community-based mental health infrastructure in Ohio. This paper presents survey results of the type of adaptive strategies used by Ohio community-based mental health organizations to manage the consequences of the economic downturn. Results were aggregated into geographical classifications of rural, mid-sized urban, and urban. Across all groups, respondents perceived, to varying degrees, that the Great Recession posed a threat to their organization's survival. Urban organizations were more likely to implement adaptive strategies to expand operations while rural and midsized urban organizations implemented strategies to enhance internal efficiencies.

  1. Health and fracking: Should the medical profession be concerned ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    fracking) may reduce carbon emissions relative to the use of coal and have substantial economic benefits for South Africa. However, concerns have been raised regarding the health and environmental impacts. The drilling and fracking processes ...

  2. Innovation, resources and economic growth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Curzio, A.Q.; Fortis, M.; Zoboli, R.

    1994-01-01

    The book is concerned with the following items: 1. Technological Creativity and Institutions, 2. Innovation at Work in an Historical-Economic Perspective: Energy and Industrial Materials, 3. Scientific Revolutions and Strategies of Economic Supremacy: Advanced Materials and Biotechnologies, 4. Economic Growth and Agro-Food Policies in Key Problem Regions: Former USSR and LDCs, 5. Economic Growth and Natural Resources at Risk: Climate Change, Forests and Water and in Conclusion: Innovation and Resources in a Global Policy Perspective. Only one chapter have regard to energy problems: Energie efficient technologies: past and future perspectives. (UA)

  3. Pacific salmonines in the Great Lakes Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Claramunt, Randall M.; Madenjian, Charles P.; Clapp, David; Taylor, William W.; Lynch, Abigail J.; Léonard, Nancy J.

    2012-01-01

    Pacific salmon (genus Oncorhynchus) are a valuable resource, both within their native range in the North Pacific rim and in the Great Lakes basin. Understanding their value from a biological and economic perspective in the Great Lakes, however, requires an understanding of changes in the ecosystem and of management actions that have been taken to promote system stability, integrity, and sustainable fisheries. Pacific salmonine introductions to the Great Lakes are comprised mainly of Chinook salmon, coho salmon, and steelhead and have accounted for 421, 177, and 247 million fish, respectively, stocked during 1966-2007. Stocking of Pacific salmonines has been effective in substantially reducing exotic prey fish abundances in several of the Great Lakes (e.g., lakes Michigan, Huron, and Ontario). The goal of our evaluation was to highlight differences in management strategies and perspectives across the basin, and to evaluate policies for Pacific salmonine management in the Great Lakes. Currently, a potential conflict exists between Pacific salmonine management and native fish rehabilitation goals because of the desire to sustain recreational fisheries and to develop self-sustaining populations of stocked Pacific salmonines in the Great Lakes. We provide evidence that suggests Pacific salmonines have not only become naturalized to the food webs of the Great Lakes, but that their populations (specifically Chinook salmon) may be fluctuating in concert with specific prey (i.e., alewives) whose populations are changing relative to environmental conditions and ecosystem disturbances. Remaining questions, however, are whether or not “natural” fluctuations in predator and prey provide enough “stability” in the Great Lakes food webs, and even more importantly, would a choice by managers to attempt to reduce the severity of predator-prey oscillations be antagonistic to native fish restoration efforts. We argue that, on each of the Great Lakes, managers are pursuing

  4. in_focus - Valuing the Environment: Economics for a Sustainable ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    2010-01-01

    Jan 1, 2010 ... Environmental economics is a subfield of economics concerned with ... Economics has much to offer in understanding and influencing this behaviour. ... IDRC congratulates first cohort of Women in Climate Change Science ...

  5. Methods of economic analysis applied to fusion research. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1983-01-01

    In this and previous efforts ECON has provided economic assessment of a fusion research program. This phase of study focused on two tasks, the first concerned with the economics of fusion in an economy that relies heavily upon synthetic fuels, and the second concerned with the overall economic effects of pursuing soft energy technologies instead of hard technologies. This report is organized in two parts, the first entitled An Economic Analysis of Coproduction of Fusion-Electric Energy and Other Products, and the second entitled Arguments Associated with the Choice of Potential Energy Futures

  6. Global population decline of the Great Slaty Woodpecker (Mulleripicus pulverulentus)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lammertink, M.; Prawiradilaga, D.M.; Setiorini, U.; Zaw Naing, T.; Duckworth, J.W.; Menken, S.B.J.

    2009-01-01

    The Great Slaty Woodpecker (Mulleripicus pulverulentus) of South and Southeast Asia, the third largest woodpecker species in the world, is currently in the IUCN Red List category of Least Concern. This woodpecker appears associated with old-growth forests, and the rapid reductions in forest cover

  7. Essays in behavioral economics : Applied game theory and experiments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mermer, A.G.

    2014-01-01

    Behavioral Economics aims at understanding the decision of economic agents who are not necessarily monetary utility maximizers and accounts for the fact that agents may have other concerns next to economic gain. This thesis contributes to the literature by studying the behavior of economic agents

  8. The Effects of Economic Crisis on Tourism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maricica Drutu (Ivan

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Objectives. This paper proposes a listing of the main effects of economic and financial crisis ontourism, followed by an analysis of key trends in tourism development and mutations occurring in consumerbuying behavior of such services. Prior Work. All these have a significant impact on the strategies thatshould be used for tourist destinations, given that the last 20 years, tourism has made a great contribution tothe global economy, being the fastest growing sector in terms of External revenue and create jobs, andeconomic and financial crisis that has affected the world economy in 2008, has led to decreasing the flow ofboth domestic and international tourists. Approach. In terms of sustainable development, a concern must beemphasized that tourism as a phenomenon, but also as an activity is unique in its kind that manifests itself bydependence on the environment, social environment and cultural values, that are found in areas of interest.Value. Because of this dependency, tourism has an undeniable interest in ensuring the sustainability of thesevalues.

  9. ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN THE ROMANIAN ECONOMIC FIELD AND BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT: A NECESSITY OR A FAD?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monica Condruz-Bacescu

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the present article is to analyse the influence of anglicisms in the Romanian economic field and business environment. English influence in Romanian, very pronounced in the current European languages, is accomplished both by taking massive lexical elements and by assigning meanings of English borrowings to Romanian words. The emergence of English words’ borrowings in our country is due to the current socio-political conditions and widening of economic-financial relations with the Western world, the English words being used by specialists for communication and information in all fields, as well as speakers who tend to practice English as the international language of communication. Major transformations in the international social-economic organization imposed the development of modern disciplines: finance, statistics, management, marketing, business administration, whose languages are subordinated to the economic field. The research is intended to provide examples of English borrowings used in the economic language. English terms, specialized or not, especially in the form of a borrowing, penetrate directly in all economic subdomains, by virtue of an interference trend (manifested internationally concerning terminologies and the relations of specialized vocabulary with the usual one. One way of English terms entering the Romanian language is the specialised texts. The article also points out terminology concerning conditions of delivery and international business transactions. The written or spoken media contributes greatly to the spread of anglicisms that inform the public on various issues and developments in the social, political, cultural and economic aspects, nationally and internationally, having an important role in English vocabulary’ modernization by borrowing from English. The conclusion of the article is that with all the difficulties of adapting to the linguistic system of the Romanian language, the English

  10. 15. Basic economic indicators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carless, J.; Dow, B.; Farivari, R.; O'Connor, J.; Fox, T.; Tunstall, D.; Mentzingen, M.

    1992-01-01

    The clear value of economic data and analysis to decisionmakers has motivated them to mandate the creation of extensive global economic data sets. This chapter contains a set of these basic economic data, which provides the context for understanding the causes and the consequences of many of the decisions that affect the world's resources. Many traditional economic indicators fail to account for the depletion or deterioration of natural resources, the long-term consequences of such depletion, the equitable distribution of income within a country, or the sustainability of current economic practices. The type of measurement shown here, however, is still useful in showing the great differences between the wealthiest and the poorest countries. Tables are given on the following: Gross national product and official development assistance 1969-89; External debt indicators 1979-89; Central government expenditures; and World commodity indexes and prices 1975-89

  11. Christian Church: A Catalyst for Economic Development in Nigeria

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Toshiba

    The issue of economic development is of national concern. The. Nigerian economy ..... The Christian church has provided both moral and economic impetus ... posits that the church needs to concentrate on the business of creating economic ...

  12. An ecosystem approach to the health effects of mercury in the Great Lakes basin ecosystem

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gilbertson, Michael; Carpenter, D.O.

    2004-01-01

    New concerns about the global presence and human health significance of mercury have arisen as a result of recent epidemiological data demonstrating subtle neurological effects from consumption of mercury-contaminated fish. In the Great Lakes Basin, the complexity of the diverse sources, pools, and sinks of mercury and of the pathways of distribution, fate, and biotransformation requires an ecosystem approach to the assessment of exposures of Great Lakes' human populations. Further epidemiological research is needed to verify preliminary indications of harmful effects in people living near the Great Lakes. Great Lakes fish are valuable resources for subsistence nutrition, recreation, and commerce, but the benefits of fish consumption must be balanced by concern for the hazards from the contaminants that they may contain. The efficacy of fish consumption advisories in reducing exposures should continue to be evaluated while planning continues for remedial actions on contaminated sediments from historic industrial activities and for regulatory action to control sources

  13. Ethical Implications in the Socio-Economical Life

    OpenAIRE

    Ion Hirghiduş

    2009-01-01

    Concern for the morality of economic life is relatively recent and involves the need to implement ethical codes that prevent violation of rules of conduct. The Socio-economical sphere is marked by profound transformations that shape a particular kind of rationality. The ethical rules can also be found under this kind of rationality. Apparently these rules hinder the economical processes, but in reality respecting the economical rule, leads to the increase of trust between economical actors. H...

  14. Towards an economics of well-being

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    McGregor, J.A.; Pouw, N.

    2017-01-01

    There is growing concern that presently dominant frameworks in economics no longer provide a way of adequately addressing and analysing the problems of today’s globalising and rapidly changing world. This article makes a number of fundamental proposals about how we might reframe economics to move it

  15. The "Great National Discussion"; The Discourse of Politics in 1787.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kramnick, Isaac

    1988-01-01

    The "great national discussion" of 1787 involved deliberations, writings, debates, and speeches concerning the newly created U.S. Constitution. Both the framers and the critics of the Constitution utilized philosophies of: (1) republicanism; (2) Lockean liberalism; (3) work-ethic Protestantism; and (4) state-centered theories of power…

  16. Geomorphic controls on Great Basin riparian vegetation at the watershed and process zone scales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blake Meneken Engelhardt

    2009-01-01

    Riparian ecosystems supply valuable resources in all landscapes, but especially in semiarid regions such as the Great Basin of the western United States. Over half of Great Basin streams are thought to be in poor ecological condition and further deterioration is of significant concern to stakeholders. A thorough understanding of how physical processes acting at...

  17. Childhood obesity policies - mighty concerns, meek reactions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vallgårda, Signild

    2018-01-01

    Background: The increasing number of children defined as overweight or obeseis causing concern among politicians and health advocates; several countries havelaunched policies addressing the issue.Method: The paper presents an analysis of how the childhood obesity is defined,explained and suggested...... policies to address the problem from the WHO, the EU,Canada, England and New Zealand.Results: Considering the dramatic language used when describing childhood obe-sity, the proposed interventions are modest. Either the politicians do not considerthe problem that great after all, or other concerns...... by evidence, and the evidence cited is sometimesmisinterpreted or disregarded.Conclusion: There is a discrepancy between how the problem of childhood obe-sity is presented as alarming and the modest measures suggested....

  18. Reproductive success and contaminant associations in tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) used to assess a Beneficial Use Impairment in U.S. and Binational Great Lakes’ Areas of Concern

    Science.gov (United States)

    Custer, Christine M.; Custer, Thomas W.; Etterson, Matthew A.; Dummer, Paul; Goldberg, Diana R.; Franson, J. Christian

    2018-01-01

    During 2010-2014, tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) reproductive success was monitored at 68 sites across all 5 Great Lakes, including 58 sites located within Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs) and 10 non-AOCs. Sample eggs were collected from tree swallow clutches and analyzed for contaminants including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins and furans, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, and 34 other organic compounds. Contaminant data were available for 360 of the clutches monitored. Markov chain multistate modeling was used to assess the importance of 5 ecological variables and 11 of the dominant contaminants in explaining the pattern of egg and nestling failure rates. Four of 5 ecological variables (Female Age, Date within season, Year, and Site) were important explanatory variables. Of the 11 contaminants, only total dioxin and furan toxic equivalents (TEQs) explained a significant amount of the egg failure probabilities. Neither total PCBs nor PCB TEQs explained the variation in egg failure rates. In a separate analysis, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure in nestling diet, used as a proxy for female diet during egg laying, was significantly correlated with the daily probability of egg failure. The 8 sites within AOCs which had poorer reproduction when compared to 10 non-AOC sites, the measure of impaired reproduction as defined by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, were associated with exposure to dioxins and furan TEQs, PAHs, or depredation. Only 2 sites had poorer reproduction than the poorest performing non-AOC. Using a classic (non-modeling) approach to estimating reproductive success, 82% of nests hatched at least 1 egg, and 75% of eggs laid, excluding those collected for contaminant analyses, hatched.

  19. The impact of Oil Prices on the International Economic Arena: The Economic Factors and International Players

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MA. Arben Salihu

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Throughout history the new technologies and discoveries revolutionized the way we live. The discovery, the oil, has been critical for society, becoming the world’s most profitable and essential industry transforming itself from domestic to international business. The aim of this paper, above all is to analyze the role of oil and its price volatility in world economy. The ongoing changes and transformations in world oil industry tend to have a great effect not only on the oilimporting countries but also on oil-exporting nations. The demand or supply-triggered oil price volatility differ in its effects to world economic activity. Although it may have different effect for the oil importing nations in comparison to oil exporting nations, still inflationary pressure may be a common feature. A number of points relevant to the study are put forward highlighting pros and cons of issues discussed. The paper also elaborates the environmental concerns, deriving from the increase of oil consumption and the necessity (globally to increase efforts in finding a decent,(environmentally friendly replacement for oil.

  20. The place of consumption in ecological economics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Røpke, Inge; Reisch, Lucia A.

    2004-01-01

    for considering all aspects of the interactions between humans, and the environment and simultaneously has the ambition of promoting transdisciplinary work, it is not surprising to see an increasing number of contributions on consumption and environment emerge at ecological economics conferences and in journals......Research concerning consumption in an environmental perspective has become very dynamic in recent years. Throughout the 1990s contributions have emerged from several different disciplines and approaches, and the research now covers a wide variety of topics. As ecological economics is open...... of the following is to give an idea of the disciplinary and methodological breadth and variety of research concerning consumption and environment, and to place ecological economic contributions in perspective....

  1. Regional Personality Differences in Great Britain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rentfrow, Peter J.; Jokela, Markus; Lamb, Michael E.

    2015-01-01

    Recent investigations indicate that personality traits are unevenly distributed geographically, with some traits being more prevalent in certain places than in others. The geographical distributions of personality traits are associated with a range of important political, economic, social, and health outcomes. The majority of research on this subject has focused on the geographical distributions and macro-level correlates of personality across nations or regions of the United States. The aim of the present investigation was to replicate and extend that past work by examining regional personality differences in Great Britain. Using a sample of nearly 400,000 British residents, we mapped the geographical distributions of the Big Five Personality traits across 380 Local Authority Districts and examined the associations with important political, economic, social, and health outcomes. The results revealed distinct geographical clusters, with neighboring regions displaying similar personality characteristics, and robust associations with the macro-level outcome variables. Overall, the patterns of results were similar to findings from past research. PMID:25803819

  2. The Great Recession and the risk for child maltreatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne; Schneider, William; Waldfogel, Jane

    2013-10-01

    This study draws on the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N=2,032), a birth cohort study of families with children from 20 U.S. cities. Interviews occurred between August 2007, and February 2010, when the children were approximately 9 years old. Macro-economic indicators of the Great Recession such as the Consumer Sentiment Index and unemployment and home foreclosure rates were matched to the data to estimate the links between different measures of the Great Recession and high frequency maternal spanking. We find that the large decline in consumer confidence during the Great Recession, as measured by the Consumer Sentiment Index, was associated with worse parenting behavior. In particular, lower levels of consumer confidence were associated with increased levels of high frequency spanking, a parenting behavior that is associated with greater likelihood of being contacted by child protective services. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Ecological economics and global change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maier-Rigaud, G.

    1991-09-01

    What is the subject of ecology? What is the primary concern of economics? How can the interface between ecology and economics be described? Is there a relationship between the two different sciences which constitutes a new research field? This book raises some of these basic questions and reflects on major misleading assumptions research in ecological economics unwittingly relies on. An outlook is given as to the aspects on which research in this field should now primarily concentrate. This publication addresses first of all natural scientists and politicians, though economists, too, might find some new aspects apart from traditional economic reasoning. (orig./KW)

  4. Nuclear economics: Issues and facts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hudson, C.R.

    1993-01-01

    Nuclear economics has become on the more prominent topics related to nuclear power. Beyond the subjects of nuclear safety and waste disposal, questions and concerns of nuclear power economics have emerged with growing frequency in utility board rooms, in state and federal regulatory proceedings, and in the media. What has caused nuclear power economics to become such a popular topic? This paper addresses issues and facts related to historical nuclear plant costs, new nuclear plant projections, and warning signals for future plants

  5. DOES FAIR VALUE REPRESENT A CONCERN FOR ROMANIAN RESEARCHERS?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jurcau Anca-Sabina

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available In the actual economic context, the fair value concept is of high interest .We tried to see if the concept is only talk about, or if research in Romania has been actually done on this theme. We have analyzed the Romanian Journals recognized by CNCSIS in order to see if this concept represents a concern for Romanian researchers. This article is a literature review of the economic Romanian journals recognize by CNCSIS in the field of “fair value”.

  6. Financial Strain and Mental Health Among Older Adults During the Great Recession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilkinson, Lindsay R

    2016-07-01

    The economic recession has garnered the interest of many scholars, with much attention being drawn to how the recession has affected labor force participation, household wealth, and even retirement decisions. Certainly, the Great Recession has influenced the financial well-being of older adults, but has it had discernible effects on mental health? This study draws on 5,366 respondents from the Health and Retirement Study (2006-2010) to examine objective and subjective measures of financial well-being in the period surrounding the Great Recession. Guided by cumulative inequality theory, this research investigates whether the economic downturn contributed to worsening anxiety and depressive symptoms over a 4-year period. Results from linear fixed effects models reveal that decreases in objective financial resources were associated with increased financial strain during the Great Recession. Unlike the objective indicators, however, financial strain was a strong and robust predictor of worsening mental health between 2006 and 2010. Building on prior research, this study elucidates the factors that shape financial strain and provides evidence that the Great Recession not only affected the financial well-being of older adults but also had adverse effects on mental health. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  7. Utilitarianism & Welfare Economics

    OpenAIRE

    Yoshizawa,Masayasu

    1992-01-01

    §1 Characteristics of Utilitarianism §2 Bentham's Ethical Theory §3 Faults of Bentham's Ethical Theory Ⅱ Pigou's The Economics of Welfare §4 The National Dividend and the Condition of Maximizing It §5 Three Questions Concerning Income Distribution §6 The National Dividend and Labor's Real Income Ⅲ The New Welfare Economics §7 Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility and Income Redistribution §8 Hicks and the New Welfare Economics §9 Feast and Starvation Ⅳ Income Distribution, Market, and Economic ...

  8. Intimate Partner Violence in the Great Recession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Daniel; Harknett, Kristen; McLanahan, Sara

    2016-04-01

    In the United States, the Great Recession was marked by severe negative shocks to labor market conditions. In this study, we combine longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study with U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data on local area unemployment rates to examine the relationship between adverse labor market conditions and mothers' experiences of abusive behavior between 2001 and 2010. Unemployment and economic hardship at the household level were positively related to abusive behavior. Further, rapid increases in the unemployment rate increased men's controlling behavior toward romantic partners even after we adjust for unemployment and economic distress at the household level. We interpret these findings as demonstrating that the uncertainty and anticipatory anxiety that go along with sudden macroeconomic downturns have negative effects on relationship quality, above and beyond the effects of job loss and material hardship.

  9. Reconsidering great ape imitation and pantomime. Comment on "Towards a Computational Comparative Neuroprimatology: framing the language-ready brain" by Michael A. Arbib

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russon, Anne E.

    2016-03-01

    Like previous commentators, I see Arbib's reconstruction of the mirror neuron system's contribution to language evolution [1] as valuable but in need of revision [2,3]. My concerns focus on his proposed behavioral pathway to language - complex imitation to pantomime to protosign - as it concerns great apes. Arbib portrays these abilities as unique to the human lineage, despite evidence that great apes are capable of all three. I suggest great ape findings worth reconsidering.

  10. The Great Recession was not so Great

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Ours, J.C.

    2015-01-01

    The Great Recession is characterized by a GDP-decline that was unprecedented in the past decades. This paper discusses the implications of the Great Recession analyzing labor market data from 20 OECD countries. Comparing the Great Recession with the 1980s recession it is concluded that there is a

  11. European Union and Romanian Tourism – ß and σ Convergence in the Economic Development Regions of Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gina Ionela Butnaru

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available At present, both in Romania and in Europe, tourism tends to become one of the biggest industries, with great development possibilities in the future. The economic development of Romania including tourism benefits from the support of the European Union, and has the purpose to reduce the gaps in this concern, compared to both the European Union average and more developed countries. The purpose of this paper is to analyse β and σ convergence in the 8 Economic Development Regions of Romania by a tourism approach. The concept of β-convergence represents the process of quicker development of poor regions than the rich ones, and σ-convergence is evaluating the process of decrease of regional economic disparities in time. The analysis based on β-convergence was performed using econometric modelling techniques of linear correlation. For σ-convergence, we measured the dispersion of real GDPT per in habitant by the use of the variation coefficient t  . The purpose is to check the hypothesis according to which the β-convergence approach and the σ- convergence concept can lead to different results for the Economic Development Regions of Romania. The period analysed is between 2007 and 2013.

  12. Political Ideology and Economic Freedom across Canadian Provinces

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bjørnskov, Christian; Potrafke, Niklas

    This paper examines how political ideology influenced economic freedom in the Canadian provinces. We analyze the dataset of economic freedom indicators compiled by the Fraser Institute in 10 Canadian provinces over the 1981-2005 period and introduce two different indices of political ideology......: government and parliament ideology. The results suggest that government ideology influenced labor market reforms: market-oriented governments promoted liberalization of the labor market. Parliamentary ideology did not influence economic liberalization at all. This finding (1) identifies differences between...... leftist and rightwing governments concerning the role of government in the economy and (2) indicates that ideological polarization concerns governments but less parliamentary fractions in the Canadian provinces. ...

  13. Herbicides: A new threat to the Great Barrier Reef

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lewis, Stephen E.; Brodie, Jon E.; Bainbridge, Zoe T.; Rohde, Ken W.; Davis, Aaron M.; Masters, Bronwyn L.; Maughan, Mirjam; Devlin, Michelle J.; Mueller, Jochen F.; Schaffelke, Britta

    2009-01-01

    The runoff of pesticides (insecticides, herbicides and fungicides) from agricultural lands is a key concern for the health of the iconic Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Relatively low levels of herbicide residues can reduce the productivity of marine plants and corals. However, the risk of these residues to Great Barrier Reef ecosystems has been poorly quantified due to a lack of large-scale datasets. Here we present results of a study tracing pesticide residues from rivers and creeks in three catchment regions to the adjacent marine environment. Several pesticides (mainly herbicides) were detected in both freshwater and coastal marine waters and were attributed to specific land uses in the catchment. Elevated herbicide concentrations were particularly associated with sugar cane cultivation in the adjacent catchment. We demonstrate that herbicides reach the Great Barrier Reef lagoon and may disturb sensitive marine ecosystems already affected by other pressures such as climate change. - Herbicide residues have been detected in Great Barrier Reef catchment waterways and river water plumes which may affect marine ecosystems.

  14. Economics on nuclear techniques application in industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kato, Masao

    1979-01-01

    The economics of the application of nuclear techniques to industry is discussed. Nuclear techniques were applied to gauging (physical measurement), analysis, a radioactive tracer method, electrolytic dissociation, and radiography and were found to be very economical. They can be applied to manufacturing, mining, oceano-engineering, environmental engineering, and construction, all of which have a great influence on economics. However, because the application of a radioactive tracer technique does not have a direct influence on economics, it is difficult to estimate how beneficial it is. The cost-benefit ratio method recommended by IAEA was used for economical calculations. Examples of calculations made in gauging and analysis are given. (Ueda, J.)

  15. Electricity - a great asset for Canada

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chretien, Jean.

    1983-06-01

    Canada has a great national asset in its ability to generate electricity economically from its abundant hydro, coal, and uranium resources. Its nuclear industry has an excellent product. Despite lack of orders for now, the CANDU will be a competitive force when the reactor market recovers. Canada has a proven record of reliability for electricity trade with the United States. There appear to be some opportunities for plants in Canada dedicated to the export of electric power. The federal government is prepared to work closely with the provinces to develop projects which will be attractive to customers in the United States

  16. Opinions of Illinois Secondary Business Teachers Concerning Political and Socio-Economic Issues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scriven, Jolene Davidson

    1975-01-01

    The results of this study point to a need for business teachers to find ways of discussing political and socio-economic issues in their classrooms and that business teacher education institutions should be certain that graduates are prepared to include these issues in the courses they teach. (Author)

  17. Real analysis with economic applications

    CERN Document Server

    Ok, Efe A

    2011-01-01

    There are many mathematics textbooks on real analysis, but they focus on topics not readily helpful for studying economic theory or they are inaccessible to most graduate students of economics. Real Analysis with Economic Applications aims to fill this gap by providing an ideal textbook and reference on real analysis tailored specifically to the concerns of such students. The emphasis throughout is on topics directly relevant to economic theory. In addition to addressing the usual topics of real analysis, this book discusses the elements of order theory, convex analysis, optimization, correspondences, linear and nonlinear functional analysis, fixed-point theory, dynamic programming, and calculus of variations. Efe Ok complements the mathematical development with applications that provide concise introductions to various topics from economic theory, including individual decision theory and games, welfare economics, information theory, general equilibrium and finance, and intertemporal economics. Moreover, a...

  18. Post-War Economics. Micro-Level Evidence from the African Great Lakes Region

    OpenAIRE

    D'Aoust, Olivia

    2015-01-01

    This thesis starts by arguing that the civil conflicts that erupted in the African Great Lakes are rooted in a continuous pursuit of power, in which ethnic, regional and political identifiers are used by the contenders for power to rally community support. In an introductory chapter, I go back to the colonial era, drawing attention to Burundi and Rwanda, and then describe in more details Burundi's refugee crisis, ex-combatants' demobilization and the 2010 elections, all of which will be addre...

  19. Sustainable city policy. Economic, environmental, technological

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Camagni, R.; Capello, R. [Politecnico di Milano, Milan (Italy). Economics Dept.; Nijkamp, P. [Dept. of Spatial Economics. Fac. of Economics and Econometrics. Vrije Univ., Amsterdam (Netherlands)

    1995-12-31

    While the reasons for advocating intensified environmental concerns at the urban level are more and more accepted and clear, the question how to overcome such concerns is still fraught with many difficulties. The aim of the present paper is to formulate some policy guidelines, based on economic principles, for a `sustainable city`; it is an ambitious aim, since a unique and operationally defined `recipe` is difficult to envisage. An urban policy for a sustainable city needs to take different (and contrasting) aspects and many conflicting interests into consideration, while many political, social and economic frictions need to be overcome. A description of various aspects and concepts concerning sustainability issues at the urban level is given in Section 2. Section 3 then provides some considerations on possible technological, economic and environmental urban policies, by creating a typo logy of policy tools associated with different causes of urban decline. Section 4 provides some new, and partly provocative, suggestions for specific urban sustainability policies; in particular it deals with the problem of urban sustainability indicators, measures, and critical threshold levels at which urban sustainability policies should be implemented. Some reflective remarks will conclude the paper. 3 figs., 4 tabs., 25 refs.

  20. Sustainable city policy. Economic, environmental, technological

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Camagni, R.; Capello, R.

    1995-01-01

    While the reasons for advocating intensified environmental concerns at the urban level are more and more accepted and clear, the question how to overcome such concerns is still fraught with many difficulties. The aim of the present paper is to formulate some policy guidelines, based on economic principles, for a 'sustainable city'; it is an ambitious aim, since a unique and operationally defined 'recipe' is difficult to envisage. An urban policy for a sustainable city needs to take different (and contrasting) aspects and many conflicting interests into consideration, while many political, social and economic frictions need to be overcome. A description of various aspects and concepts concerning sustainability issues at the urban level is given in Section 2. Section 3 then provides some considerations on possible technological, economic and environmental urban policies, by creating a typo logy of policy tools associated with different causes of urban decline. Section 4 provides some new, and partly provocative, suggestions for specific urban sustainability policies; in particular it deals with the problem of urban sustainability indicators, measures, and critical threshold levels at which urban sustainability policies should be implemented. Some reflective remarks will conclude the paper. 3 figs., 4 tabs., 25 refs

  1. Judaism and Economics: The Link between Judaism and Economic Life

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stanisław Fel

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available This article deals with the relationship of Judaism to economic activity. The subject is the typical approach of Jewish ethical thought, concerning the understanding of money, wealth, jobs and economic initiatives. Issues related to fundamental economic life are shown to be covered in the books that the Jewish community considers sacred. Particularly important are the Old Testament and the Talmud. Also important are references to the cultural interpretation of Judaism, including the classical works on the subject – Jacques Attali and Werner Sombart. The key concept is the subject of “wealth,” the meaning of which is derived from the Bible’s Book of Exodus and the Talmud. Finally, the foundations for Jewish economic thought can be expressed as the product of an embedded culture, which is founded on religion, in which property acquires ethical legitimacy. The argument is crowned with historical examples of the noble economic activity of the Jewish people, which also give evidence of the interrelatedness of religion and the proper use of wealth.

  2. Foundations of Australian Agricultural Economics

    OpenAIRE

    Myers, Laurel

    2007-01-01

    In the early years of the twentieth century, Australia's leading economists were well versed in the nature of Australian agriculture but it was not until the 1930s and 1940s that scientists and economists alike realised there was an obvious need for trained agricultural economists. In this paper it is argued that the foundations of Australian agricultural economics were laid in the period immediately following the economic upheaval of the Great Depression and the Second World War. The formali...

  3. Explaining Protest in the Aftermath of the Great Recession in Europe: The Relevance of Different Economic Indicators

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesca Vassallo

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The European economic crisis has brought economic hardship and prolonged instability to many countries in the European Union. While economies are struggling to recover, citizens have opted to become more vocal unconventionally. Mass protest, public occupations and demonstrations have dominated Europe. Yet, numbers of people choosing to protest need to be assessed to verify whether the economic recession is indeed responsible for a surge in protest activism on the continent. With the use of multiple rounds from the European Social Survey (2006-2012, this article tests the hypothesis linking unconventional political behavior in Europe to the economy. Findings suggest that overall European protest levels are not higher after the crisis, although confrontational activism has spiked in few countries. Economic variables retain instead an important role in the explanation of protest in the post-recession era, with both objective and subjective economic measures supporting a grievance theory explanation of why Europeans protest. Economic decline matters in the selection of protest as a mode of political participation.

  4. Understanding Great Plains Urbanization through the Lens of South Dakota Townscapes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conzen, Michael P.

    2010-01-01

    Most towns were crucial to the initial colonization and economic development of the Great Plains. Many were, directly or indirectly, creatures of railroad corporate planning, owing their location as well as their physical layout to the townsite companies controlled by railroad officials. This article examines how these facts shaped the fundamental…

  5. Financialisation, oil and the Great Recession

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gkanoutas-Leventis, Angelos; Nesvetailova, Anastasia

    2015-01-01

    This article addresses the role of world oil price hike of 2007–08 in serving to transform the financial and banking crisis into what is commonly referred to the Great Recession. Existing literature on the global crisis of 2007–09 tends to view it as a financial or banking phenomenon, with analyses focusing mainly on state policies, governance mechanisms and market dynamics in transforming the banking crisis of 2007–08 into the economic recession of 2008-12/13 Although often attributing the global meltdown to wider phenomenon of financialisation, rarely do existing perspectives delve into the role of the commodity sector in the global credit crunch. In this paper, we aim to fill this gap, by inquiring into the role played by oil as a financial asset class in the political economy of the global crisis. - Highlights: • We study the oil price and its effects on the Great Recession. • We approach oil as a financial asset class. • We observe the transformation of oil through deregulation.

  6. The Impact of the Great Recession on Student Achievement: Evidence from Population Data. CEPA Working Paper No. 17-09

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shores, Kenneth; Steinberg, Matthew P.

    2017-01-01

    The Great Recession was the most severe economic downturn in the United States since the Great Depression. Using newly available population-level achievement data from the Stanford Education Data Archive (SEDA), we estimate the impact of the Great Recession on the math and English language arts (ELA) achievement of all grade 3-8 students in the…

  7. Studies and research concerning BNFP. Identification and simplified modeling of economically important radwaste variables

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ebel, P.E.; Godfrey, W.L.; Henry, J.L.; Postles, R.L.

    1983-09-01

    An extensive computer model describing the mass balance and economic characteristics of radioactive waste disposal systems was exercised in a series of runs designed using linear statistical methods. The most economically important variables were identified, their behavior characterized, and a simplified computer model prepared which runs on desk-top minicomputers. This simplified model allows the investigation of the effects of the seven most significant variables in each of four waste areas: Liquid Waste Storage, Liquid Waste Solidification, General Process Trash Handling, and Hulls Handling. 8 references, 1 figure, 12 tables

  8. [Several problems concerning population investment].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Z

    1982-07-29

    Population investment is a major topic in the studies of population and economic relations. In this particular area, numerous theoretical and practical problems are still in need of solution. Concerning the problem of population concept, there are three different approaches: (1) to determine the definition of population investment from the relationship between the population growth and the capital from national income used for investment, including investment in the newly increased population and investment in the entire population; (2) to explain population investment from the economic viewpoint that people are producers; and (3) to explain population investment from the expense needed to change a simple labor force to a skillful labor force. The expenses include educational costs, maintanance spending, wages needed to compensate workers in labor, costs for workers to master and learn modern scientific techniques to be used for production, and the costs of keeping a young labor force in the next generation.

  9. Review of Collection of Documents “Krasnoyarsk Region during the Great Patriotic War. 1941-1945 (On the documents by Archive Agency of Krasnoyarsk Region, 2010. 497 p.”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dmitrii A. Malyutin

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents the review of the collection of documents, including the data on social and economic situation in Krasnoyarsk Region during the Great Patriotic War, the activity of party and Soviet authorities, deeds by Krasnoyarsk natives in the frontline and labor achievements in the rear. The collection contains the documents, describing the daily life in wartime, the public mood, the living conditions, social security, the status of disabled veterans. The presented data, concerning patriotic activity of the orthodox church, camps of People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs, facts of desertion, speculation, criminality in the region prove weight and objective approach of the composite author to the documents selection.

  10. Survey of Labor Economics Textbooks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maxwell, Nan L.

    1985-01-01

    Labor economics textbooks for use with college students were surveyed. Information concerning intended audience, content, and teaching aids is provided for each text. Criteria used in evaluating the texts is provided. (RM)

  11. Growing a sustainable biofuels industry: economics, environmental considerations, and the role of the Conservation Reserve Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clark, Christopher M; Bierwagen, Britta G; Morefield, Philip E; Ridley, Caroline E; Lin, Yolanda; Vimmerstedt, Laura; Bush, Brian W; Eaton, Laurence M; Langholtz, Matthew H; Peterson, Steve

    2013-01-01

    Biofuels are expected to be a major contributor to renewable energy in the coming decades under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). These fuels have many attractive properties including the promotion of energy independence, rural development, and the reduction of national carbon emissions. However, several unresolved environmental and economic concerns remain. Environmentally, much of the biomass is expected to come from agricultural expansion and/or intensification, which may greatly affect the net environmental impact, and economically, the lack of a developed infrastructure and bottlenecks along the supply chain may affect the industry’s economic vitality. The approximately 30 million acres (12 million hectares) under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) represent one land base for possible expansion. Here, we examine the potential role of the CRP in biofuels industry development, by (1) assessing the range of environmental effects on six end points of concern, and (2) simulating differences in potential industry growth nationally using a systems dynamics model. The model examines seven land-use scenarios (various percentages of CRP cultivation for biofuel) and five economic scenarios (subsidy schemes) to explore the benefits of using the CRP. The environmental assessment revealed wide variation in potential impacts. Lignocellulosic feedstocks had the greatest potential to improve the environmental condition relative to row crops, but the most plausible impacts were considered to be neutral or slightly negative. Model simulations revealed that industry growth was much more sensitive to economic scenarios than land-use scenarios—similar volumes of biofuels could be produced with no CRP as with 100% utilization. The range of responses to economic policy was substantial, including long-term market stagnation at current levels of first-generation biofuels under minimal policy intervention, or RFS-scale quantities of biofuels if policy or market conditions were

  12. Thermodynamics and economics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mansson, B.A.

    1990-01-01

    Economics, as the social science most concerned with the use and distribution of natural resources, must start to make use of the knowledge at hand in the natural sciences about such resources. In this, thermodynamics is an essential part. In a physicists terminology, human economic activity may be described as a dissipative system which flourishes by transforming and exchanging resources, goods and services. All this involves complex networks of flows of energy and materials. This implies that thermodynamics, the physical theory of energy and materials flows, must have implications for economics. On another level, thermodynamics has been recognized as a physical theory of value, with value concepts similar to those of economic theory. This paper discusses some general aspects of the significance of non-equilibrium thermodynamics for economics. The role of exergy, probably the most important of the physical measures of value, is elucidated. Two examples of integration of thermodynamics with economic theory are reviewed. First, a simple model of a steady-state production system is sued to illustrate the effects of thermodynamic process constraints. Second, the framework of a simple macroeconomic growth model is used to illustrate how some thermodynamic limitations may be integrated in macroeconomic theory

  13. When Great Scholars Disagree

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alan Sica

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available When Weber analyzed Judaism as part of his series concerning global religious practices and the economic arrangements that accompanied them, he decided to employ the term “pariah” as an analytic device, but without any of the pejorative connotations which are attached to the word today. Had he used instead Gastvolk (guest people throughout his book rather than “pariah-people,” many subsequent scholars would not have objected to Ancient Judaism in the way they have over the last 90 years. Arnaldo Momigliano, probably the greatest classical historian of the mid-20th century, respected Weber’s work, but also took exception to his use of “pariah” regarding Judaism. This article investigates this troubling term and the scholarship that it inspired.

  14. The Political Economy of World Heavyweight Boxing during the Great Depression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vlad ROŞCA

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the paper is to show how boxing managed to remain an affordable and consumable good for the USAmerican citizens in the times of the Great Depression of 1929-1933, when industrial production was closing. Moreover, while other economic activities faced problems, boxing continued to produce money. The research analyzes the economic market of professional heavyweight boxing, presenting some of the tools that helped promoters produce and sell the fight shows to the consumers – like price discrimination and cartel agreements, for example, and, thus, helped generating incomes and assured money circulation in the economy.

  15. The great battles of the energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chevalier, J.M.

    2004-10-01

    This book presents an introduction to the great world energy challenges. The first part of this book, is devoted to the energy sources history with a special interest for the petroleum. The advantages and disadvantages of the energy sources as the natural gas, the coal, the nuclear power and the renewable energies, are also discussed. Two chapters are devoted to the analysis of the energy sectors deregulation in Europe, in particular the electric power market. The last part proposes to discuss on the twenty century challenge: how to reconcile the energy demand, the environment protection and the developing countries economic development? (A.L.B.)

  16. Contextual influences on environmental concerns cross-nationally: A multilevel investigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marquart-Pyatt, Sandra T

    2012-09-01

    Environmental issues continue to grow in international prominence, as environmental conditions are recognized as some of the most important problems facing the world. Research examining this globalization of environmental concern shown in public opinion surveys emphasizes the importance of context yet is currently underspecified. To address this gap, this research uses a multi-level, cross-national study to examine individual-level and country-level influences on three measures of environmental concern: environmental threat awareness, environmental efficacy, and willingness to pay. At the individual level, education, age, and gender affect environmental concerns. At the national level, economic, political, and environmental factors affect environmental concerns. Importantly, contextual factors differ in their effects depending on the dimension of environmental concern measured. Results from cross-level interactions for education confirm these complexities across these measures, supporting a dimensionality argument. The importance of the measurement of environmental concern shown in this research is emphasized for future cross-national scholarship. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Technical-economic evaluation of the utilization of closing resistor in CEMIG extra-high voltage circuit breakers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rocha, Angelica C.O.; Pinto, Roberto del Giudice R.; Teixeira, Jose Cleber; Fonseca, Rodrigo Assuncao; F, Junior, Sebastiao V [Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais (CEMIG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil)

    1994-12-31

    This paper presents the technical and economic studies performed by CEMIG, Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais, Brazil, concerning the use of closing resistor in its extra-high voltage (EHV) breakers. The analysis emphasizes the advantages which could be achieved with the elimination of the resistor as far as costs and reliability are concerned. This evaluation was motivated by two 500 kV breaker failures resulting from the breakdown of the closing resistor operation mechanism. These occurrences resulted in operative restriction for CEMIG EHV system. The analysis demanded a review of the capability criteria of silicon carbide (Si C) gap arresters, which are still greatly used in CEMIG EHV System, and of the procedures to be applied when carrying out the transient studies. The investigation resulted in the prompt removal of closing resistors from circuit breakers in CEMIG extra-high voltage system generating an economy of approximately U$ 840,00 and an improvement in safety and system reliability. (author) 13 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab.

  18. Linking Ethics and Economic Growth

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Foss, Nicolai Juul

    2012-01-01

    Hunt (2012) builds on his work concerning ethics and resource-advantage theory to link personal ethical standards, societal norms, and economic growth but offers few details concerning the precise mechanisms that link ethics and growth. This comment suggests a number of such mechanisms – for exam...... – for example, the influence of prevailing ethical norms on the aggregate elasticity of substitution and, therefore, total factor productivity and growth....

  19. Climate of Concern--A Search for Effective Strategies for Teaching Children about Global Warming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taber, Fiona; Taylor, Neil

    2009-01-01

    Recent research suggests that the issue of global warming is one of great concern for Australian children. This point to the need for effective teaching about this issue. Children should be properly informed about actions that help reduce carbon emissions as this may give them a sense of empowerment and go some way to alleviating concerns. This…

  20. Legal questions concerning the licensing procedure of nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boerner, B.

    1978-01-01

    The publication contains 4 articles which deal with legal practice and problems of the licensing procedure in the Federal Republic of Germany: 1) Actions brought by joint boards from the constitutional point of view (Burmeister, J.); 2) court review of the assessment of technical and economic questions concerning the licensing of power plant construction (Ossenbuehl, F.); 3) the site plan approval procedure as a legal problem (Friauf, K.H.); 4) legal questions concerning the immediate enforceability (Papier, H.J.). (HP) [de

  1. La economía del la salud: ¿debe ser de interés para el campo sanitario? Health economics: should it concern the health sector?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manuel Collazo Herrera

    2002-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper addresses the most important features of health economics, especially its scope and applications within the sphere of health. Health economics is a field of study which allows countries to gear their health policies toward making more rational use of their resources and expanding and improving their health care services. Such policies should, on the other hand, aim to generate strategies for adequately managing human, technical, economic, and financial resources so as to reap the finest health benefits possible. A knowledge of how economics can be applied to health will enable health professionals to introduce an economics culture into their daily work. In other words, it will allow them to keep in mind the scope of their various working tools¾health planning, national health accounts and accounting, and economic assessment methods, which include health and pharmaceutical technology assessment and pharmacoeconomics¾as well as the place that economics has in health research. Hopefully, a knowledge of these aspects of economic analysis will provide decision-makers with one more tool they can apply in selecting more efficient options and attaining the highest health benefits at the lowest possible cost for the national health system.

  2. Impact of intensity and loss assessment following the great Wenchuan Earthquake

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Yifan

    2008-09-01

    The great Wenchuan Earthquake occurred on May 12, 2008 in the Sichuan Province of China, and had a magnitude of 8.0. It is the most serious earthquake disaster in China since the great Tangshan Earthquake ( M s=7.8, July 28, 1976). According to official reports, there were 69,225 deaths, 379,640 injuries and 17,939 missing as of Aug. 11, 2008. The China Earthquake Administration quickly sent hundreds of experts to the field immediately after the event, to investigate the damage and assess the economic losses. This paper emphasizes the impact of seismic intensity and presents a preliminary loss assessment. A brief description of the geological features of the affected region is provided, followed by a summary of the earthquake damage. An isoseismal map is developed that shows that the high intensity region is distributed like a belt around the seimogenic fault, and that the epicentral intensity reached XI (Chinese Intensity Scale, similar to the Modified Mercalli Scale). The direct economic loss resulting from the earthquake is 692 billions RMB (about 100 billions US).

  3. The great Canadian oil patch : the petroleum era from birth to peak. 2. ed.

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gray, E.

    2004-01-01

    This book presents a history of the petroleum industry from its early years to the present day. Anecdotal tales of pioneers in the industry were related, with reference to the birth of the oil industry, the Turner Valley, early energy waste issues, and accidents. Norman Wells and the Canol Project were discussed, as was the accident at Leduc and issues surrounding Pembina. Issues concerning the great pipeline debate and Trans-Canada were related. An overview of the oil sands industry was provided along with historical information on Arctic development and offshore oil. The National Oil Policy was considered, with reference to the oil crisis, economic development and the rise and fall of the National Energy Program. Survivors of the oil industry crisis were discussed, with reference to the remaining large independent producers. Issues surrounding the end of the oil and gas age were also examined, with reference to issues concerning renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency. The Kyoto Protocol was reviewed in relation to the oil and gas industry. It was concluded that currently, low market prices mask external costs such as air pollution. It was also noted that if energy prices continue to rise, energy efficiency will increase, thereby reducing the gap between fossil and alternative fuels. In addition, it was suggested that the incentive to capture carbon dioxide emissions and sequester them to recover more oil from old fields will increase. refs., tabs., figs

  4. Exploring economic structure and drivers of economic growth in Botswana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patricia Lindelwa Makoni

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This article set out to analyse the economic structure and main economic drivers in Botswana. Botswana, a country in sub-Saharan Africa, is a relatively small economy, hugely dependent on its diamond mineral wealth. Concerns have arisen in recent years that the diamond deposits will soon be depleted and the country therefore needs to embark on a diversification programme to broaden its economic base. In order to understand the Botswana economy, its economic structure and current domestic sectorial performance were evaluated, as well as its trends in imports and exports. An analysis of the data shows that, regardless of the awareness of the sensitivity to external shocks of commodity prices, as well as the obvious future depletion of diamond reserves, the Botswana economy continues to rely on diamonds, at the expense of attracting international capital flows to enhance and maintain sustainable economic growth, through investments in agriculture, manufacturing and tourism. It is therefore recommended that the Government of Botswana becomes proactive and implements recommended policies to diversify its economy, so that it can sustain or improve its economic growth by becoming a prime destination of international capital and domestic private sector investment, thereby increasing employment and trade opportunities.

  5. Metabolic Syndrome Risks Following the Great Recession in Rural Black Young Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Gregory E; Chen, Edith; Yu, Tianyi; Brody, Gene H

    2017-09-06

    Some of the country's highest rates of morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease are found in lower-income black communities in the rural Southeast. Research suggests these disparities originate in the early decades of life, and partly reflect the influence of broader socioeconomic forces acting on behavioral and biological processes that accelerate cardiovascular disease progression. However, this hypothesis has not been tested explicitly. Here, we examine metabolic syndrome (MetS) in rural black young adults as a function of their family's economic conditions before and after the Great Recession. In an ongoing prospective study, we followed 328 black youth from rural Georgia, who were 16 to 17 years old when the Great Recession began. When youth were 25, we assessed MetS prevalence using the International Diabetes Federation's guidelines. The sample's overall MetS prevalence was 18.6%, but rates varied depending on family economic trajectory from before to after the Great Recession. MetS prevalence was lowest (10.4%) among youth whose families maintained stable low-income conditions across the Recession. It was intermediate (21.8%) among downwardly mobile youth (ie, those whose families were lower income before the Recession, but slipped into poverty). The highest MetS rates (27.5%) were among youth whose families began the Recession in poverty, and sank into more meager conditions afterwards. The same patterns were observed with 3 alternative MetS definitions. These patterns suggest that broader economic forces shape cardiometabolic risk in young blacks, and may exacerbate disparities already present in this community. © 2017 The Authors. Published on behalf of the American Heart Association, Inc., by Wiley.

  6. Dynamics of the public concern and risk communication program implementation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaryabova, Victoria; Israel, Michel

    2015-09-01

    The public concern about electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure varies due to different reasons. A part of them are connected with the better and higher quality of information that people receive from science, media, Internet, social networks, industry, but others are based on good communication programs performed by the responsible institutions, administration and persons. Especially, in Bulgaria, public concern follows interesting changes, some of them in correlation with the European processes of concern, but others following the economic and political processes in the country. Here, we analyze the dynamics of the public concern over the last 10 years. Our explanation of the decrease of the people's complaints against EMF exposure from base stations for mobile communication is as a result of our risk communication program that is in implementation for >10 years.

  7. GLOBAL ECONOMIC MELTDOWN AND THE NIGERIAN ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    global financial meltdown, marked by the collapse of hitherto revered and great financial ... Indeed it is an integral part of a market (capitalist) economy. .... competitively in economic production, so also is the deficit in its trade with the rest of the.

  8. Social Planning and Economic Coercion

    OpenAIRE

    Hintermann, Beat; Rutherford, Thomas F.

    2014-01-01

    We develop a theory of social planning with a concern for economic coercion, which we define as the difference between consumers’ actual utility, and the "counterfactual" utility they expect to obtain if they were able to set policy themselves. Reasons to limit economic coercion include protecting minorities, preventing disenfranchised groups from engaging in socially costly behavior, or political economy considerations. As long as consumers are fully rational, limiting coercion is equivale...

  9. Western European gas: economic versus strategic considerations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stoppard, Michael.

    1994-01-01

    Concerns over the export of Russian gas to Western Europe are aired in this paper. Although gas deliveries continue to flow to the economic benefit of both buyers and seller, some critics fear supply disruptions, of the sort common in the old Soviet Union. Proponents of the scheme argue for its economic benefits and dismiss concerns of the strategic leverage it gives the Russian Federation, pointing out that Western Europe's dependence on imported oil is much higher than upon natural gas. The technology for gas storage is seen as a priority to defeat the strategic importance of possible supply disruptions. It is argued that the United Kingdom will eventually distance itself economically from Germany, France, Italy and Spain in terms of its energy policy as our policy of diversification moves away from their commitment to free market forces. (UK)

  10. On the problematic state of economic 'science | Keita | Africa ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    making with little relevance to the real world. Thus the important issues concerning human welfare, equity and the decisive role that politics plays in economic decision-making were all regarded as irrelevant to neoclassical economic theory.

  11. Democracy, education, and economics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Emami, Z.; Davis, J.

    2009-01-01

    This paper examines the connections between democracy and education, particularly as it concerns economics. We adopt a pluralist proceduralist view of democracy, and argue that this requires a view of individuals as active decision-makers able to deliberate and reflect on their different ideas and

  12. REFORMS IN HIGH EDUCATION AND THEIR INFLUENCE IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF R. MACEDONIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeton Shaqiri

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Education as an important social activity represents the basic capital of contemporary society and, as such, today is considered to be a major factor in the economic and social development of any country. The development of education during the transition period in our country has marked significant and visible changes. The importance of education in the economic and social development of each country is one of the topics around the world discussed in various aspects. Investing in education is quite remarkable, because it is an investment in knowledge, technology, science - "brain drain", a future investment and is one of the decisive factors for today's socio-economic development with current changes and current global development. Due to education, in some countries are made great scientific discoveries and technicallytechnological revolutions, which have been crucial to humanity in general. In fact, education is knowledge and knowledge is the driving force behind the overall development of a society. World-renowned economists such as Adam Smith and Alfred Marshall in the 18th and 19th centuries were concerned with investment in education, posing the question: How do investments in education reflect in national wealth? And in increasing the possibility for greater profits of people as individuals! Although, even worldrenowned economists have dealt with this issue, which based on empirical data provided explanations on the importance of mediation and economic growth. Considering that even developing and newest technological innovations derive from the process of educated individuals, it is very important to consider the impact of higher education on economic development.

  13. Ecological economics - a special perspective? Preliminary reflections

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Røpke, Inge

    2002-01-01

    This paper reports on some preliminary reflections from a research project concerning ecological economics as a special perspective. As Clive Spash noted in a presentation at the ESEE conference in Cambridge, July 2001, ecological economics has reached the age of puberty, looks into the glass...... and searches its own identity. The identity seeking processes are visible in the large number of publications discussing the characteristics of ecological economics as well as the similarities to and differences from environmental economics. The present paper is a part of this stream. The paper is work...

  14. The economic impacts of a submarine HVDC interconnection between Norway and Great Britain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doorman, Gerard L.; Frøystad, Dag Martin

    2013-01-01

    In the present paper we analyze the profitability of different HVDC interconnection alternatives between Norway and Great Britain for present and future scenarios. The analysis is done from a merchant and a social welfare perspective. The analyses include interconnections between Norway and Scotland and Southern Great Britain, respectively, as well as an alternative link to a future offshore wind farm. From a social welfare perspective the northern interconnection alternative is profitable under all sets of assumptions. The southern alternative is profitable under present conditions, but less than the northern alternative. The alternative link to the offshore wind park is not profitable, but this result is highly dependent on market conditions. From a merchant perspective none of the alternatives is profitable, clearly illustrating that leaving investments to commercial parties does not realize all projects that increase social welfare. - Highlights: • Profitability of interconnection between Norway and GB is analyzed using simulation. • The Northern alternative increases social welfare under all assumptions. • None of the alternatives is profitable from a merchant perspective. • A link to a prospective wind farm 200 km from the GB coast is not profitable. • Social welfare increasing infrastructure may not be built on commercial conditions

  15. Terminological naming of the world economic crisis in the intertwining of Economics and Medicine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ieda Maria Alves

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents some results concerning the Project Cultural and educational values in specialized metaphor: multiple images of the world economic crisis in print media, which is being developed under Capes-DGPU Program, a cooperation program established between Brazil and Spain in order to support exchange and research among researchers and post-graduate students from Brazilian and Spanish universities. Based on the corpus of journalistic texts constituted within this project, we emphasize, in this paper, the relations between Economics and Medicine. These relations, established through metaphors and other figures, show how these two sciences establish intersections, which are reflected in the terminology of the world economic crisis.

  16. Patients' and parents' concerns and decisions about orthodontic treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kazancı, Fatih; Aydoğan, Cihan; Alkan, Özer

    2016-01-01

    Patients' and parents' expectations are important in orthodontic treatment decision making. The literature generally demonstrates the perceived benefits of orthodontic treatment, but patients' and their parents' concerns about orthodontic treatment have not been investigated comprehensively. The aim of this study was to identify patients' and parents' concerns about orthodontic treatment and compare them according to sex, age, and treatment demand level. One hundred and eighty-nine children and their parents were interviewed about concerns related to orthodontic treatment. Patients and parents were asked about orthodontic treatment decisions. Answers were recorded as "yes," "no," or "don't know." Chi-squared and Fisher's exact tests were used to compare concerns between age groups, sexes, and treatment demand levels. Kappa statistics were used to assess agreement between patients and their parents. Concerns about orthodontic treatment were gathered under 10 items as follows: "feeling pain," "the appearance of braces," "being teased," "avoiding smiling," "speech problems," "dietary changes," "problems with transportation," "economic problems," "long treatment duration," and "missing school." There was no statistically significant difference in concerns between the sexes or age groups. Some concern items and treatment demand were inversely related in patients. The results of this study demonstrate patients' and parents' concerns about orthodontic treatment. Differences between the concerns of patients with different treatment demands imply that children might reject orthodontic treatment because of their concerns. Appropriate consultation of patients addressing their concerns may help reduce anxiety and improve the acceptance of treatment.

  17. Introduction to health economics and decision-making: Is economics relevant for the frontline clinician?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goeree, Ron; Diaby, Vakaramoko

    2013-12-01

    In a climate of escalating demands for new health care services and significant constraints on new resources, the disciplines of health economics and health technology assessment (HTA) have increasingly been turned to as explicit evidence-based frameworks to help make tough health care access and reimbursement decisions. Health economics is the discipline of economics concerned with the efficient allocation of health care resources, essentially trying to maximize health benefits to society contingent upon available resources. HTA is a broader field drawing upon several disciplines, but which relies heavily upon the tools of health economics and economic evaluation. Traditionally, health economics and economic evaluation have been widely used at the political (macro) and local (meso) decision-making levels, and have progressively had an important role even at informing individual clinical decisions (micro level). The aim of this paper is to introduce readers to health economics and discuss its relevance to frontline clinicians. Particularly, the content of the paper will facilitate clinicians' understanding of the link between economics and their medical practice, and how clinical decision-making reflects on health care resource allocation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Elementary Schools, Teaching, and Social Studies in Texas: Facing the Great Depression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellows, M. Elizabeth; Baumi, Michelle; Field, Sherry L.

    2013-01-01

    Across the United States, the Great Depression was a period of tremendous upheaval. Economic, family, political, and educational institutions shook mightily as the tremors of widespread financial downturn were felt. Public schools faced increasing hardships, which included financial problems such as a weakened tax base due to the non-payment of…

  19. Economic Relevance and Planning for Literacy Instruction: Reconciling Competing Ideologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boggs, George L.; Stewart, Trevor Thomas; Jansky, Timothy A.

    2018-01-01

    The language of economics and economic imperatives are driving standardized school reform in the United States without input from teachers. This teacher action research project responds to concerns about contemporary school reforms by considering how economics-minded dialogue about literacy education can help teachers support students' literacy…

  20. Rock mechanics and the economics of cut-and-fill mining

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Almgren, G.

    1980-05-15

    The application of rock mechanics to mining has great economic potential. Factors such as loss of ore, rock-dilution, possibilities of machanization and rock support are all influenced by the degree of rock mechanics involvement. In particular loss of ore is limited by the correct dimensioning of pillars and remnants. Rock-dilution, depending upon caving, can in the same way be mastered by the right dimensions of stopes and pillars and of rock supporting. Possibilities of mechanization depend upon sizes of drifts and stopes, stope availabilities and access to the stopes, all depending upon a considered rock mechanic investigation. Also shut-downs in the stopes owing to caving can be affected in the same way. Consequences on the mining economy for cut-and-fil mining are illustrated concerning loss of ore, rock-dilution, mechanization levels and rock support. The biggest influence can be made on rock-dilution and mechanization. Under special circumstances loss of ore can be of the same magnitude, namely if the ore production per year is directly influenced by the loss of ore and can not be compensated by other mining activities. Rock support is of less economic importance compared with rock-dilution and mechanization, presupposed no less of ore-production.

  1. Modelling management process of key drivers for economic sustainability in the modern conditions of economic development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pishchulina E.S.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The text is about issues concerning the management of driver for manufacturing enterprise economic sustainability and manufacturing enterprise sustainability assessment as the key aspect of the management of enterprise economic sustainability. The given issues become topical as new requirements for the methods of manufacturing enterprise management in the modern conditions of market economy occur. An economic sustainability model that is considered in the article is an integration of enterprise economic growth, economic balance of external and internal environment and economic sustainability. The method of assessment of economic sustainability of a manufacturing enterprise proposed in the study allows to reveal some weaknesses in the enterprise performance, and untapped reserves, which can be further used to improve the economic sustainability and efficiency of the enterprise. The management of manufacturing enterprise economic sustainability is one of the most important factors of business functioning and development in modern market economy. The relevance of this trend is increasing in accordance with the objective requirements of the growing volumes of production and sale, the increasing complexity of economic relations, changing external environment of an enterprise.

  2. Economic impacts of wine tourism in Michigan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mi-Kyung Kim; Seung Hyun Kim

    2003-01-01

    In Michigan, wine tourism is perceived as increasingly important concept because more and more tourists visit wineries and wine tasting rooms annually. However there have been few studies conducted concerning the economic impacts of wineries in Michigan even though the industry has been recognized as having significant economic impact potential. The primary purpose of...

  3. Employment and Economic Insecurity: A Commonsian Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sylvie Morel

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The principal concern of this paper is with the need of a theoretical shift in economics for analyzing and devising efficient and innovative policy reforms to combat employment insecurity. Mainstream economics is unable to provide appropriate theorizing about economic phenomena, including economic insecurity. Thus, we must turn to economic theories which radically question the dominant paradigm in economics. John Rogers Commons's institutionalist theory accomplishes that. First, the author of this paper outlines the distinctive character of this theory by presenting some of its crucial methodological differences with neoclassical economics. Second, she explains how economic insecurity is conceptualized as an "instituted" process with this theory of institution. A better mastery of this specific school of thought in economics appears to escape the problems met by mainstream economics by proposing a real theoretical alternative for the development of a truly evolutionary, trans-disciplinary and ethical economic theory.

  4. Employment and Economic Insecurity: A Commonsian Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sylvie Morel

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available The principal concern of this paper is with the need of a theoretical shift in economics for analyzing and devising efficient and innovative policy reforms to combat employment insecurity. Mainstream economics is unable to provide appropriate theorizing about economic phenomena, including economic insecurity. Thus, we must turn to economic theories which radically question the dominant paradigm in economics. John Rogers Commons's institutionalist theory accomplishes that. First, the author of this paper outlines the distinctive character of this theory by presenting some of its crucial methodological differences with neoclassical economics. Second, she explains how economic insecurity is conceptualized as an "instituted" process with this theory of institution. A better mastery of this specific school of thought in economics appears to escape the problems met by mainstream economics by proposing a real theoretical alternative for the development of a truly evolutionary, trans-disciplinary and ethical economic theory.

  5. Home economics: origin, development and professional working field

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Carla Menezes de Oliveira

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Home Economics is not only a set of practical knowledge housewives must possess to prepare food empirically, make and repair clothes, take care of their children and do domestic chores. The objective of this article is to discuss the area of Economics defined as Home Economics, focusing on its origin, evolution, the working field of its specialists and its prospects for the 21st century. Results show the need for scientific and professional knowledge of Home Economics in schools, families and society. The study of Home Economics is of great importance because both school and family are part of society and present very complex phenomena, therefore an adequate and efficient solution for those phenomena demand the knowledge of specialized scientific notions of Home Economics.

  6. casual relationship between gross domestic saving and economic

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    TOSHIBA

    private saving has both direct and indirect effects on economic growth. ... sector have a bigger impact on GDP than gross domestic savings. ... Development economists have been concerned for decades about the crucial role of ..... higher investment and higher economic growth is not supported by East African countries.

  7. ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL FACTS AND PERSPECTIVES OF 2017

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liviu RADU

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Following the turbulent year of 2016, with deep geopolitical changes, the new year of 2017 promises to be full of challenges in what concerns the economic, social, political and geostrategic area. The key events of the last year (the Brexit, the elections in the USA, the events in Turkey, the force demonstrations of Russia, the situation of the migration wave etc. shall have an impact on the global economic development and on the repositioning of its main actors. This paperwork intends to analyze the main consequences of the recent events on the short term progress in what concerns the economic, social, political and geostrategic area. We hereby intend to review the facts and the main potential progress on the economic status of this year which was so complicated, both for the European Union and for every member of it.

  8. Energy economics and financial markets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dorsman, Andre [Vrije Univ. Amsterdam (Netherlands). Dept. of Finance; Simpson, John L. [Curtin Univ., Perth, WA (Australia). School of Economics and Finance; Westerman, Wim (eds.) [Groningen Univ. (Netherlands). Faculty of Economics and Business Economics, Econometrics and Finance

    2013-10-01

    Deals with the upcoming theme of energy issues. Links energy issues with economics and financial markets. Combines global focus with specific regional and local examples. Unites theoretical insights with timely data and practical insights. Specialized author team from all over the world. Energy issues feature frequently in the economic and financial press. Specific examples of topical energy issues come from around the globe and often concern economics and finance. The importance of energy production, consumption and trade raises fundamental economic issues that impact the global economy and financial markets. This volume presents research on energy economics and financial markets related to the themes of supply and demand, environmental impact and renewables, energy derivatives trading, and finance and energy. The contributions by experts in their fields take a global perspective, as well as presenting cases from various countries and continents.

  9. Circulation economics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ingebrigtsen, Stig; Jakobsen, Ove

    2006-01-01

    Purpose - This paper is an attempt to advance the critical discussion regarding environmental and societal responsibility in economics and business. Design/methodology/approach - The paper presents and discusses as a holistic, organic perspective enabling innovative solutions to challenges...... concerning the responsible and efficient use of natural resources and the constructive interplay with culture. To reach the goal of sustainable development, the paper argues that it is necessary to make changes in several dimensions in mainstream economics. This change of perspective is called a turn towards...... sustainability. To illustrate the theoretical discussion, the paper gives some practical examples from the reprocessing industry in Norway. Findings - The paper finds, first, effective and efficient use of natural resources is necessary to implement circular value chains. Second, sustainable development...

  10. Navigating the Great Recession: what role for monetary policy?

    OpenAIRE

    Bank for International Settlements

    2013-01-01

    The 12th BIS Annual Conference took place in Lucerne, Switzerland on 20-21 June 2013. The event brought together a distinguished group of central bank governors, leading academics and former public officials to exchange views on the conference theme of "Navigating the Great Recession: what role for monetary policy?". This volume contains the opening address by Stephen Cecchetti (former Economic Adviser, BIS), a keynote address by Finn Kydland (University of California, Santa Barbara) and the ...

  11. Economic analysis of nuclear power generation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song, Ki Dong; Lee, Han Myeong; Lee, Man Kee; Moon, Ki Hwan; Kim, Seung Soo; Kim, Seong Ki; Lee, Yeong Ki

    1993-12-01

    As CO 2 emission is recognized as the one of the major causes of the global worming, international CO 2 emission regulation has been of great concern and has been discussed actively on the global level. Several means of CO 2 emission regulation have been raised and have received much attention recently. CO 2 emission regulation is expected to affect the national economy as well as the national energy policy. Since the electricity sector closely interacts with CO 2 emission, environmental regulation has the possibility of implementation in this sector. Considering the enormous role played by electricity in the national economy, it is very important to study the effect of environmental regulation on the electricity sector. The main purpose of this study is to estimate the marginal cost of CO 2 emission by analyzing the effect of CO 2 emission regulation on the electricity sector in terms of capacity and generation mix. This information can be used effectively in energy policy establishment. In addition, the effect of CO 2 emission regulation on economic viability of electricity generating type is also being studied in order to contribute to the establishment of Electric System Expansion Planning in Korea

  12. Acknowledging patient heterogeneity in economic evaluation : a systematic literature review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grutters, Janneke P C; Sculpher, Mark; Briggs, Andrew H; Severens, Johan L; Candel, Math J; Stahl, James E; De Ruysscher, Dirk; Boer, Albert; Ramaekers, Bram L T; Joore, Manuela A

    2013-02-01

    Patient heterogeneity is the part of variability that can be explained by certain patient characteristics (e.g. age, disease stage). Population reimbursement decisions that acknowledge patient heterogeneity could potentially save money and increase population health. To date, however, economic evaluations pay only limited attention to patient heterogeneity. The objective of the present paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge regarding patient heterogeneity within economic evaluation of healthcare programmes. A systematic literature review was performed to identify methodological papers on the topic of patient heterogeneity in economic evaluation. Data were obtained using a keyword search of the PubMed database and manual searches. Handbooks were also included. Relevant data were extracted regarding potential sources of patient heterogeneity, in which of the input parameters of an economic evaluation these occur, methods to acknowledge patient heterogeneity and specific concerns associated with this acknowledgement. A total of 20 articles and five handbooks were included. The relevant sources of patient heterogeneity (demographics, preferences and clinical characteristics) and the input parameters where they occurred (baseline risk, treatment effect, health state utility and resource utilization) were combined in a framework. Methods were derived for the design, analysis and presentation phases of an economic evaluation. Concerns related mainly to the danger of false-positive results and equity issues. By systematically reviewing current knowledge regarding patient heterogeneity within economic evaluations of healthcare programmes, we provide guidance for future economic evaluations. Guidance is provided on which sources of patient heterogeneity to consider, how to acknowledge them in economic evaluation and potential concerns. The improved acknowledgement of patient heterogeneity in future economic evaluations may well improve the

  13. Study Concerning the Measure of Using Accounting, Economical and Administrative Evaluation in Practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dreghiciu Andreea Elena

    2017-01-01

    Starting from the purpose for which the evaluation is requested, this can be accountingevaluation, administrative evaluation and respectively economical – financial evaluation. Thepurpose of accounting evaluation is to elaborate financial reports, and administrative, economicaland financial evaluations have the purpose of determining the market value for different reasons.

  14. Fairness Concerns and Corrupt Decisions :an Experimental Approach

    OpenAIRE

    Epp, Lena; Leszczynska, Nastassia

    2017-01-01

    This study investigates the impact of a public officials' fairness considerations towards citizens in a petty corruption situation. Other-regarding preferences, and, more particularly, fairness concerns are widely acknowledged as crucial elements of individual economic decision-making. In petty corruption contexts, public officials are to a large extent aware of differences between citizens. Here, we experimentally investigate how fairness considerations may impact on corrupt behaviour. Our n...

  15. Economic aspects of metals recover

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wieczorek, Daria; Kwaśniewska, Dobrawa

    2018-03-01

    One of the modern economy models is circular economy in which wastes should be considered as resource and used in an efficient and sustainable way. This also concerns to metals included in scraps. However, the need for metal recovery from waste is not only the result of the latest economic trends but also the result of large and constantly changing demand for metals. Shrinking natural sources of metals, concentrations of ores in small number of countries in the world and resulting from this dependence on import, geopolitical situation, new technologies demands are only a few most important determinants that have been changing the structure of the metal market over years. In this chapter, authors focused on the presentation of economic aspects of metal recovery from various sources. The chapter presents the characteristic of metal market elements (supply, demand and price) and changes that took place over decades, underlining the structure of precious and highly desirable metal market elements. Balance between the demand and supply ensures price stability and rationalizes inflation. However, growing demand on many means that secure supply chains, such as recycling and material recovery, are essential to ensure continuity in the supply chain and guarantee unrestricted technological progress and innovation. The data included in this chapter presents also the concentration of different metals and group of metals in wastes pointing that recycling of waste can become one of the possibilities of acquiring missing and critical metals. Metal-laden wastes include a few groups: waste electrical and electronic equipments, catalysts of different application, introduced on chemical, petrochemical or automotive market, galvanic wastes and wastewaters. The profitability assessment of recycling processes is very complicated. Nevertheless cited data shows that profitability of recovery depends on the metal analyzed and the type of waste. It must be underline that an optimized

  16. Energy decisions reframed as justice and ethical concerns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sovacool, Benjamin K.; Heffron, Raphael J.; McCauley, Darren; Goldthau, Andreas

    2016-05-01

    All too often, energy policy and technology discussions are limited to the domains of engineering and economics. Many energy consumers, and even analysts and policymakers, confront and frame energy and climate risks in a moral vacuum, rarely incorporating broader social justice concerns. Here, to remedy this gap, we investigate how concepts from justice and ethics can inform energy decision-making by reframing five energy problems — nuclear waste, involuntary resettlement, energy pollution, energy poverty and climate change — as pressing justice concerns. We conclude by proposing an energy justice framework centred on availability, affordability, due process, transparency and accountability, sustainability, equity and responsibility, which highlights the futurity, fairness and equity dimensions of energy production and use.

  17. Gender and Race/Ethnicity Differences in Mental Health Care Use before and during the Great Recession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jie; Dagher, Rada

    2016-04-01

    This study examines the changes in health care utilization for mental health disorders among patients who were diagnosed with depressive and/or anxiety disorders during the Great Recession 2007-2009 in the USA. Negative binomial regressions are used to estimate the association of the economic recession and mental health care use for females and males separately. Results show that prescription drug utilization (e.g., antidepressants, psychotropic medications) increased significantly during the economic recession 2007-2009 for both females and males. Physician visits for mental health disorders decreased during the same period. Results show that racial disparities in mental health care might have increased, while ethnic disparities persisted during the Great Recession. Future research should separately examine mental health care utilization by gender and race/ethnicity.

  18. Adaptation During a Great Economic Recession: A Cohort Study of Greek and Immigrant Youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Motti-Stefanidi, Frosso; Asendorpf, Jens B

    2017-07-01

    This study examined how Greek and immigrant youth adapted to school life during the economic recession in Greece. Two cohorts of adolescents (M age  = 12.6 years) were compared, one assessed before the crisis and the other during the crisis (N = 1,057 and 1,052, respectively). Cohort findings were disaggregated by immigrant status, generation, and ethnic group. Crisis-cohort youth experienced more economic problems, displayed worse conduct, higher levels of absenteeism, and lower self-efficacy than precrisis youth. The cohorts did not differ in well-being, school engagement, and academic achievement. Most crisis-cohort groups showed a pervasive increase in conduct problems compared to the precrisis cohort. However, some of these groups also showed an increase in academic achievement. © 2017 The Authors. Child Development © 2017 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

  19. Coasian and Modern Property Rights Economics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Foss, Kirsten; Foss, Nicolai

    2015-01-01

    Laying the foundations of property rights economics stands out among Ronald Coase's many seminal contributions. This approach had an impact on a number of fields in economics in, particularly, the 1960s and 1970s. The modern body of property rights economics mainly originates in the work Oliver...... Hart and is quite different in style, scope, and implications from the original property rights economics of Coase, Demsetz, Alchian, Cheung, Umbeck, Barzel, etc. Based on our earlier work on the subject (Foss and Foss, 2001), we argue that the change from Mark I to Mark II property rights economics...... led to a substantial narrowing of the scope of property rights economics, somewhat akin to a Kuhnian loss of content. In particular, Mark II property rights economics make strong assumptions concerning the definition and enforcement of ownership rights made which lead to many real life institutions...

  20. The Great Game redux: Energy security and the emergence of tripolarity in Eurasia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozdamar, Ibrahim Ozgur

    Securing energy resources has become a key aspect of foreign policy-making since the 1970s. States have used military and economic foreign policy tools to secure the supply of energy to their domestic markets. With the fall of the USSR in 1991, political and economic competition for penetration into energy-rich regions spread through Eurasia. Inspired from the nineteenth century term to describe Russian-British rivalry in the region, the current rivalry among great powers and their allies is called the "New Great Game". This project analyzes three political conflicts that are shaped by such rivalry that can threaten global energy security. Empirical results from the expected utility model (Bueno de Mesquita 1985) suggest the rivalry among the Western (i.e. EU, US) and Eastern (i.e. Russia, China) powers about the Iranian nuclear program, Nagorno-Karabakh and South Ossetia conflicts is likely to continue and shows some Cold War characteristics. I have also found out the expected outcomes of these conflicts and foreign policy tools and obvious and unseen strategic moves available to actors. The major conclusion of the study is that the EU and US should pursue a coordinated foreign policy and balance the Russian and Chinese influence in the region to secure access to energy resources. Most effective foreign policy tools to achieve such aim appear to be the use of economic relations as leverage against Russia and China and support economic and democratic developments of the newly established republics in Eurasia.

  1. Using Scenario Development to Encourage Tourism Business Resilience in the Great Lakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chin, N.; Day, J.; Sydnor, S.; Cherkauer, K. A.

    2015-12-01

    Tourism is an economic sector anticipated to be greatly affected by climate change, but the potential impacts of climate change on tourism have rarely been examined in detail in existing research. Past research has shown, however, that the small and medium businesses that dominate the tourism sector could be greatly impacted by climate change. We have presented global climate and hydrologic model research results to pre-selected coastal tourism business owners in the Great Lakes region to determine the best methods for delivering user-friendly future climate scenarios, given that existing research suggests that climate change adaptive behaviors and resilience increase with information (message) clarity. Model output analyses completed for this work have focused on temperature, precipitation, and extreme weather events due to their economic impact on tourism activities. We have also experimented with the development and use of infographics because of their ability to present information quickly and clearly. Initial findings of this work will be presented as well as lessons learned from stakeholder interactions. Two main results include that (1) extreme weather events may have more meaning to tourism business owners than general trends in climate and (2) long-term planning for climate is extremely difficult for tourism business owners because they operate on a much shorter planning timeline than those generally used for climate change analyses.

  2. After the Financial Crisis: The Ethics and Economics Debate Revisited

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jacob Dahl Rendtorff

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available The recent international events, with a major financial crisis all over the world, involve important questions about the relation between ethics and economics and the responsibilities of the economic market in relation to broader social and political concerns. This paper addresses this issue in five parts 1 Ethics in economic history 2 The neoliberal concept of economics 3 Welfare economics and the criticism of neo-classical concepts of rationality 4 Ethics within economics 5 Economic anthropology and the foundations of rationality.

  3. Moral reasoning about great apes in research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okamoto, Carol Midori

    2006-04-01

    This study explored how individuals (biomedical scientists, Great Ape Project activists, lay adults, undergraduate biology and environmental studies students, and Grade 12 and 9 biology students) morally judge and reason about using great apes in biomedical and language research. How these groups perceived great apes' mental capacities (e.g., pain, logical thinking) and how these perceptions related to their judgments were investigated through two scenarios. In addition, the kinds of informational statements (e.g., biology, economics) that may affect individuals' scenario judgments were investigated. A negative correlation was found between mental attributions and scenario judgments while no clear pattern occurred for the informational statements. For the biomedical scenario, all groups significantly differed in mean judgment ratings except for the biomedical scientists, GAP activists and Grade 9 students. For the language scenario, all groups differed except for the GAP activists, and undergraduate environmental studies and Grade 9 students. An in-depth qualitative analysis showed that although the biomedical scientists, GAP activists and Grade 9 students had similar judgments, they produced different mean percentages of justifications under four moral frameworks (virtue, utilitarianism, deontology, and welfare). The GAP activists used more virtue reasoning while the biomedical scientists and Grade 9 students used more utilitarian and welfare reasoning, respectively. The results are discussed in terms of developing environmental/humane education curricula.

  4. Instrument choice when regulators are concerned about resource extinction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Lars Gårn; Jensen, Frank; Russell, Clifford

    2013-01-01

    In this paper we undertake a systematic investigation of instrument choice when preventing a population collapse rather than maximizing industry profit is the overriding concern. Contrary to what seems to be the general consensus we find that landing fees do provide more effective insurance again...... the regulators total catch goals are set according to economic or precautionary principles....

  5. Response of Land Use Planning in Less Developed Areas to Economic Globalization

    OpenAIRE

    Liu, Xiang-nan

    2012-01-01

    Under the background of economic globalization, the development mechanisms of various regions faces potential deep transformation, and the effective participation of less developed areas in China in economic globalization is of great significance to the sustainable development of Chinese economy and society. In this study, we summarized the characteristics and influences of economic globalization from the aspects of industrial recombination and transfer, competition, economic relevance and de...

  6. [Obesity in children. Current concerns].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casado de Frías, Enrique

    2006-01-01

    In the last years there has been a growing interest in chilhood obesity in all developed countries. There is a great concern that is prevalence has raised 2-3 fold during the last 20 years. In the spanish chilhood population the obesity prevalence is estimated around 13%. Of note also, a number of other pathologies develop concomitantly with obesity during chilhood. These include type 2 diabetes, a range of respiratory problems, a metabolic syndrome, liver steatosis and seudotumor cerebri among others. Taking for granted that chilhood obesity in its roots is an exogenous disorder, preventive interventions should focus on modifying those ethiologies, improving the ways and nature of chilhood nutrition and its social and ludic behaviours.

  7. Economic relations between turkey and Africa: challenges and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Economic relations between turkey and Africa: challenges and prospects. ... The incumbent Turkish government now attaches great importance to developing ... It also seeks to analyse recent Turkish initiatives in Africa's energy sector.

  8. Women in development : issues for economic and sector analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Women in Development Division

    1989-01-01

    This paper highlights issues and action plans concerning women in economic and sector analysis and in project design. The paper focuses on the majority of women who are poor. It emphasizes measures to include women in development that contribute to economic performance, poverty reduction, slower population growth, and other broad development objectives. The paper concludes that women already contribute far more economically than is usually recognized. By expanding women's economic choices, ou...

  9. Alien invasive species and biological pollution of the Great Lakes Basin ecosystem[Great Lakes Water Quality Board : Report to the International Joint Commission

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2001-05-01

    The displacement of important native species in the Great Lakes is a result of an invasion by a succession of non indigenous aquatic species. These invasion also resulted in interference with the proper human water uses and cost billions of dollars. The problem was considered serious enough that the International Joint Commission asked the Great Lakes Water Quality Board in 1999 to review the regulations in place and make recommendations, if necessary, for the implementation of additional measures that could be considered to keep control over the introduction of alien invasive species. Escapes from aquaria, aquaculture, research and educational facilities, canal and diversion water flows, and release of live bait are all sources of this invasion. The effectiveness of alternative technologies to control the invasion was to be examined by the Board. Other efforts taking place to address the situation in the basin are being complemented by the publication of this report. It is considered that the most important source of alien invasive species (AIS) to the Great Lakes is the discharge of ballast water from shipping vessels coming from outside the United States and Canada. A major concern is the role played by vessels reporting no ballast on board (NOBOB) upon entering the basin. A number of recommendations were made concerning: (1) implementation and enforcement of the ballast water discharge standards agreed upon by both countries, (2) the evaluation of the effectiveness of alternative technologies to achieve ballast water discharge standards over the long term, combined with the use of chemical treatment while the evaluation is being performed, (3) the implementation of optimal management practices to control sediments in shipping vessels, (4) modifications to the design of shipping vessels, and (5) the monitoring and contingency plans in the event of a repeat scenario in the future. Composed of an equal number representatives from the United States and Canada, at

  10. The Great Financial Crisis: How Effective is Macroeconomic Policy Response in the United Kingdom?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Clements Akinsoyinu

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The Great Financial Crisis has been touted to be the worst crisis since the Great Depression of 1930; its effect has profound ramifications on the global economy. The nature and the severity of the crisis provoked an unprecedented policy response from policy makers at both global and domestic levels. To address the rampaging crisis, the Bank of England implemented a number of conventional and unconventional policy measures to curtail the economic rot and to stimulate economic growth. There is a broad consensus in the empirical literature and other evidence found in this paper that a number of the policies implemented in the United Kingdom played a significant role in re-directing and stimulating the economy. This paper reviews the various policy measures adopted by the Bank of England from the inception of the financial crisis in 2008 and assesses their effectiveness in bringing back the economy from the brink of collapse. Our review shows that quantitative easing (QE policy and the expansionary fiscal policy adopted by the Bank of England were effective policy tools used in stimulating economic growth, stemming the effect and shortening the duration of the crisis in the United Kingdom

  11. Determinants of residential space heating expenditures in Great Britain

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meier, Helena [Department of Economics, University of Hamburg, Von Melle Park 5, 20146 Hamburg (Germany); Rehdanz, Katrin [Department of Economics, University of Kiel, Olshausenstrasse 40, 24118 Kiel (Germany)

    2010-09-15

    In Great Britain, several policy measures have been implemented in order to increase energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. In the domestic sector, this could, for example, be achieved by improving space heating efficiency and thus decreasing heating expenditure. However, in order to efficiently design and implement such policy measures, a better understanding of the determinants affecting heating expenditure is needed. In this paper we examine the following determinants: socio-economic factors, building characteristics, heating technologies and weather conditions. In contrast to most other studies we use panel data to investigate household demand for heating in Great Britain. Our data sample is the result of an annual set of interviews with more than 5000 households, starting in 1991 and ending in 2005. The sample represents a total of 64,000 observations over the fifteen-year period. Our aim is to derive price and income elasticities both for Britain as a whole and for different types of household. Our results suggest that differences exist between owner-occupied and renter households. These households react differently to changes in income and prices. Our results also imply that a number of socio-economic criteria have a significant influence on heating expenditure, independently of the fuel used for heating. Understanding the impacts of different factors on heating expenditure and impact differences between types of household is helpful in designing target-oriented policy measures. (author)

  12. How Should the Financial Crisis Change How We Teach Economics?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shiller, Robert J.

    2010-01-01

    Student dissatisfaction with teaching of economics--particularly with macroeconomics--during the current financial crisis mirrors dissatisfaction that was expressed during the last big crisis, the Great Depression. Then and now, a good number of students have felt that their lectures bear little relation to the economic crisis raging outside the…

  13. Factors that contribute to the body image concern of female college students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, Wanderson Roberto; Dias, Juliana Chioda Ribeiro; Maroco, João; Campos, Juliana Alvares Duarte Bonini

    2015-01-01

    To estimate the contribution of sociodemographic and labor variables and body mass index to body image concern. In order to estimate body image concern, the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) and the Weight Concerns Scale (WCS) were applied. A confirmatory factor analysis of scales was carried out. The reason χ2 by degree of freedom ratio (χ2/df ), Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Normed Fit Index (NFI), and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) were used. Convergent validity was assessed through the average variance extracted and composed reliability and the internal consistency through standardized Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α). A structural model was developed, and the body image concern was the second-order main construct. The model appropriation was evaluated based on the goodness-of-fit indices. The z test was used to estimate the significance of trajectories (β) using a 5% significance level. Totally, 595 female college students participated in the study, with a mean age of 20.42 ± 2.44 years. The entire model, with the inclusion of all independent variables, showed unsatisfactory adjustment and was refined. The final model presented a satisfactory adjustment (χ2/df = 5.75; CFI = 0.87; NFI = 0.85; RMSEA = 0.09) with inclusion of medication use because of studies (β = 0.08; p = 0.04), academic performance (β = 0.09; p = 0.02), economic class (β = 0.08; p = 0.03), and body mass index (β = 0.44; p concern. Medication use due to studies, academic performance, economic class and body mass index significantly contribute to body image concern.

  14. The Role of Credit in Native Adaptation to the Great Basin Ranching Economy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knack, Martha C.

    1987-01-01

    Examines Nevada rancher's account books to explain details of relationship between Great Basin Indian laborers and White employers during the late 19th century. Describes Indians' work, pay rates, purchases, seasonal food availability, and credit arrangements. Examines Indians' social, economic lives and their incorporation into debt/wage system.…

  15. General Concerns Life-Cycle Design of Economical Ice-Resistant Structures in the Bohai Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang Da-yong

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available In China, the oil and natural gas resources of Bohai Bay are mainly marginal oil fields. It is necessary to build both iceresistant and economical offshore platforms. However, there are many risks during the life cycle of offshore platforms due to the imperfect preliminary design for the Bohai Sea economical ice-resistant structures. As a result, the whole life-cycle design should be considered, including plan, design, construction, management and maintenance design. Based on the demand of existing codes and research of the basic design, structural ice-resistant performance and the reasonable management and maintenance, the life-cycle design theory is discussed. It was concluded that the life-cycle cost-effective optimum design proposed will lead to a minimum risk.

  16. The Manila Declaration concerning the ethical utilization of Asian biological resources

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    NN,

    1992-01-01

    — the maintenance of biological and cultural diversity is of global concern — developing countries are major centres of biological and cultural diversity — there is increased interest in biological material with medicinal and other economic values — indigenous peoples frequently possess knowledge

  17. Financial stability or economic stability?

    OpenAIRE

    Ana POPA; Laura GIURCA VASILESCU

    2010-01-01

    This paper is based on the dilemma: effect or cause in the analysis of the economic and financial crisis? The first finding of the study is that it has always been easier to consider that the mistakes from the financial field caused the economic crisis. Currently, in the European Union and Romania there is a concern for aggressive action against financial instability. The second finding is that the crisis phenomenon manifest synergetic, thus the deterioration in the macro and micro- financial...

  18. Technical-economic analysis of electric energy storage systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stefanescu, Florian; Curuia, Marian; Brad, Sebastian; Anghel, Mihai; Stefanescu, Ioan

    2009-01-01

    Fluctuations in electric energy consumption and changes that affected last years the electric energy market, as well, entail perturbations in transport and distribution systems due to outrunning of their current physical capacities. Consequently, storing the electric energy in buffer systems appears to be a must owing to its strategic and economical importance. Indeed, it can enhance firmly the capacity of fulfilling the electric energy demands in real time and so, avoiding the blackout events caused by disruptions in power supply . Also, of great importance is the role of energy storing systems as backing ancillaries for promoting variable or uncertain renewable sources (like photovoltaic or wind sources). The Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) is a promising system of direct storing of electricity by means of magnetic energy deposing in a short-circuited superconducting loop. However difficulties related to the use o superconducting systems and cryogenic temperatures (concerning construction and maintenance) hinder at present the application of SMES systems on a scale larger than some particular applications. Actually, owing to the lack of alternative solutions the rather high costs are accepted in such cases

  19. Climate change and water quality in the Great Lakes Basin

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2003-08-01

    The Great Lakes Basin is subjected to several stresses, such as land use changes, chemical contamination, nutrient over-enrichment, alien invasive species, and acid precipitation. Climate change is now added to this list. The Water Quality Board was asked to provide advice concerning the impacts of climate change on the water quality of the Great Lakes and on how to address the issue. A White Paper was commissioned by the Board to address four key questions: (1) what are the Great Lakes water quality issues associated with climate change, (2) what are potential impacts of climate change on beneficial uses, (3) how might impacts vary across the Great Lakes region, and (4) what are the implications for decision making. The conclusions and findings of the White Paper were then discussed at a workshop held in May 2003. Part 1 of the document provides an executive summary. The advice of the Water Quality Board was based on the findings of the White Paper and presented in Part 2. Part 3 presented the White Paper, while a summary of the workshop was provided in Part 4. A presentation on cross border tools and strategies was also presented by a workshop participant.

  20. Economic evaluations of pharmacogenetic approaches in infectious diseases: a review of current approaches and evaluation of critical aspects affecting their quality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paolo Meoni

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Pharmacogenetics holds great potential for improving the effectiveness of treatment modalities in infectious diseases by taking into account the genetic determinants of both the host and infectious agents’ individuality. Better utilization of resources and improved therapeutic efficiency are the expected outcomes of personalized medicine using pharmacogenetic and pharmacogenomics information made available by technological advances. However, there has been growing concern in the clinical community regarding the evaluation of the true benefits of these approaches. This perception is partly due to the limited number and perceived poor quality of economic evaluations in this field, and initiatives aimed at harmonizing and communicating strategies improving the quality of these studies and their acceptance by the clinical community are greatly needed. This paper reviews current literature of economic evaluations of pharmacogenetics interventions guiding pharmacotherapy in infectious diseases. PubMed and the NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination databases were searched using a combination of five broad research terms related to pharmacogenetic approaches, and papers relative to economic evaluations of pharmacogenetic interventions in infectious diseases retained for further analysis. Using these criteria, a total of 14 papers were included in this review. The area of economic evaluation of pharmacogenetic interventions in infectious diseases remains understudied and would benefit from greater harmonization. The main weaknesses of evaluations reviewed in this paper seem to be represented by poor evidence of pharmacogenetic marker validation, inconsistencies in the selection of costs and utility included in the economic models and the choice of sensitivity analysis. All these factors limit the overall transparency of the studies, greater acceptance of their results and applicability to diverse and possibly resourcelimited environments where these

  1. Agent-based models in economics a toolkit

    CERN Document Server

    Fagiolo, Giorgio; Gallegati, Mauro; Richiardi, Matteo; Russo, Alberto

    2018-01-01

    In contrast to mainstream economics, complexity theory conceives the economy as a complex system of heterogeneous interacting agents characterised by limited information and bounded rationality. Agent Based Models (ABMs) are the analytical and computational tools developed by the proponents of this emerging methodology. Aimed at students and scholars of contemporary economics, this book includes a comprehensive toolkit for agent-based computational economics, now quickly becoming the new way to study evolving economic systems. Leading scholars in the field explain how ABMs can be applied fruitfully to many real-world economic examples and represent a great advancement over mainstream approaches. The essays discuss the methodological bases of agent-based approaches and demonstrate step-by-step how to build, simulate and analyse ABMs and how to validate their outputs empirically using the data. They also present a wide set of applications of these models to key economic topics, including the business cycle, lab...

  2. The stability and instability of organic expenditures in Denmark, Great Britain, and Italy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Denver, Sigrid; Christensen, Tove; Jensen, Jørgen Dejgård

    2012-01-01

    This article concerns demand for organic foods in 3 European countries: Denmark, Great Britain, and Italy. Based on extensive sets of household panel data we categorize households into 4 groups according to their levels of organic consumption. Importance of sociodemographics is estimated by apply...

  3. Neurocognitive mechanisms underlying value-based decision-making: from core values to economic value.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brosch, Tobias; Sander, David

    2013-01-01

    VALUE PLAYS A CENTRAL ROLE IN PRACTICALLY EVERY ASPECT OF HUMAN LIFE THAT REQUIRES A DECISION: whether we choose between different consumer goods, whether we decide which person we marry or which political candidate gets our vote, we choose the option that has more value to us. Over the last decade, neuroeconomic research has mapped the neural substrates of economic value, revealing that activation in brain regions such as ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), ventral striatum or posterior cingulate cortex reflects how much an individual values an option and which of several options he/she will choose. However, while great progress has been made exploring the mechanisms underlying concrete decisions, neuroeconomic research has been less concerned with the questions of why people value what they value, and why different people value different things. Social psychologists and sociologists have long been interested in core values, motivational constructs that are intrinsically linked to the self-schema and are used to guide actions and decisions across different situations and different time points. Core value may thus be an important determinant of individual differences in economic value computation and decision-making. Based on a review of recent neuroimaging studies investigating the neural representation of core values and their interactions with neural systems representing economic value, we outline a common framework that integrates the core value concept and neuroeconomic research on value-based decision-making.

  4. Neurocognitive mechanisms underlying value-based decision-making: from core values to economic value

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brosch, Tobias; Sander, David

    2013-01-01

    Value plays a central role in practically every aspect of human life that requires a decision: whether we choose between different consumer goods, whether we decide which person we marry or which political candidate gets our vote, we choose the option that has more value to us. Over the last decade, neuroeconomic research has mapped the neural substrates of economic value, revealing that activation in brain regions such as ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), ventral striatum or posterior cingulate cortex reflects how much an individual values an option and which of several options he/she will choose. However, while great progress has been made exploring the mechanisms underlying concrete decisions, neuroeconomic research has been less concerned with the questions of why people value what they value, and why different people value different things. Social psychologists and sociologists have long been interested in core values, motivational constructs that are intrinsically linked to the self-schema and are used to guide actions and decisions across different situations and different time points. Core value may thus be an important determinant of individual differences in economic value computation and decision-making. Based on a review of recent neuroimaging studies investigating the neural representation of core values and their interactions with neural systems representing economic value, we outline a common framework that integrates the core value concept and neuroeconomic research on value-based decision-making. PMID:23898252

  5. The Great Recession, unemployment and suicide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norström, Thor; Grönqvist, Hans

    2015-02-01

    How have suicide rates responded to the marked increase in unemployment spurred by the Great Recession? Our paper puts this issue into a wider perspective by assessing (1) whether the unemployment-suicide link is modified by the degree of unemployment protection, and (2) whether the effect on suicide of the present crisis differs from the effects of previous economic downturns. We analysed the unemployment-suicide link using time-series data for 30 countries spanning the period 1960-2012. Separate fixed-effects models were estimated for each of five welfare state regimes with different levels of unemployment protection (Eastern, Southern, Anglo-Saxon, Bismarckian and Scandinavian). We included an interaction term to capture the possible excess effect of unemployment during the Great Recession. The largest unemployment increases occurred in the welfare state regimes with the least generous unemployment protection. The unemployment effect on male suicides was statistically significant in all welfare regimes, except the Scandinavian one. The effect on female suicides was significant only in the eastern European country group. There was a significant gradient in the effects, being stronger the less generous the unemployment protection. The interaction term capturing the possible excess effect of unemployment during the financial crisis was not significant. Our findings suggest that the more generous the unemployment protection the weaker the detrimental impact on suicide of the increasing unemployment during the Great Recession. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  6. Methodologies of Designing Questionnaires Concerning the Dynamics and Structure of Specialists in an Economic Sector in an Economic Sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vasilica Ciuca

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available On the labour demand side, in order to identify the match between skills and labour market demand, it is required a thorough analysis of structure and dynamic of specialists in an economic sector. The data necessary for this kind of analysis could not be found in the current statistical databases. Accordingly, it is necessary to carry out surveys for exploring the demand for skills. This study presents the main elements to be taken into account in designing of questionnaires necessary for analysing the demand of specialists in an economic sector, in particular for the domain of information and communication technologies (ICT. The surveys will focus on two main issues: past and future evolution of number of workers and problems in matching demand with qualifications supply. Thus, the analysis should concentrate on structure and evolution of number of workers at entreprise-level; practices and problems met in recruitment process, namely qualifications deficits and gaps any of these dimensions being a proxy of qualifications need. The survey target-group will be limited to ICT practitioner workers, both in firms with main or secondary NACE code and in firms/institutions with IT department.

  7. Teaching Economics Using Historical Novels: Jonathan Harr's "The Lost Painting"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cotti, Chad; Johnson, Marianne

    2012-01-01

    Undergraduate students are often interested in and benefit greatly from applications of economic principles. Historical novels drawn from real-world situations can engage students with economic concepts in new ways and provide a useful tool to help enhance instruction. In this article, the authors discuss the use of historical novels generally in…

  8. The Bad Old Days: How Higher Education Fared during the Great Depression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schrecker, Ellen

    2009-01-01

    It is hard to predict exactly how academe should respond to the most serious economic crisis since the 1930s. In this article, the author suggests the possibility of assessing some possible options by looking at how higher education fared during the Great Depression. After all, despite its enormous growth since World War II, academe's…

  9. Evaluation as institution: a contractarian argument for needs-based economic evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogowski, Wolf H

    2018-06-13

    There is a gap between health economic evaluation methods and the value judgments of coverage decision makers, at least in Germany. Measuring preference satisfaction has been claimed to be inappropriate for allocating health care resources, e.g. because it disregards medical need. The existing methods oriented at medical need have been claimed to disregard non-consequentialist fairness concerns. The aim of this article is to propose a new, contractarian argument for justifying needs-based economic evaluation. It is based on consent rather than maximization of some impersonal unit of value to accommodate the fairness concerns. This conceptual paper draws upon contractarian ethics and constitution economics to show how economic evaluation can be viewed as an institution to overcome societal conflicts in the allocation of scarce health care resources. For this, the problem of allocating scarce health care resources in a society is reconstructed as a social dilemma. Both disadvantaged patients and affluent healthy individuals can be argued to share interests in a societal contract to provide technologies which ameliorate medical need, based on progressive funding. The use of needs-based economic evaluation methods for coverage determination can be interpreted as institutions for conflict resolution as far as they use consented criteria to ensure the social contract's sustainability and avoid implicit rationing or unaffordable contribution rates. This justifies the use of needs-based evaluation methods by Pareto-superiority and consent (rather than by some needs-based value function per se). The view of economic evaluation presented here may help account for fairness concerns in the further development of evaluation methods. This is because it directs the attention away from determining some unit of value to be maximized towards determining those persons who are most likely not to consent and meeting their concerns. Following this direction in methods development is

  10. Economics and utilization of thorium in nuclear reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1978-05-01

    Information on thorium utilization in power reactors is presented concerning the potential demand for nuclear power, the potential supply for nuclear power, economic performance of thorium under different recycle policies, ease of commercialization of the economically preferred cases, policy options to overcome institutional barriers, and policy options to overcome technological and regulatory barriers

  11. Great Lakes rivermouth ecosystems: scientific synthesis and management implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larson, James H.; Trebitz, Anett S.; Steinman, Alan D.; Wiley, Michael J.; Carlson Mazur, Martha; Pebbles, Victoria; Braun, Heather A.; Seelbach, Paul W.

    2013-01-01

    At the interface of the Great Lakes and their tributary rivers lies the rivermouths, a class of aquatic ecosystem where lake and lotic processes mix and distinct features emerge. Many rivermouths are the focal point of both human interaction with the Great Lakes and human impacts to the lakes; many cities, ports, and beaches are located in rivermouth ecosystems, and these human pressures often degrade key ecological functions that rivermouths provide. Despite their ecological uniqueness and apparent economic importance, there has been relatively little research on these ecosystems as a class relative to studies on upstream rivers or the open-lake waters. Here we present a synthesis of current knowledge about ecosystem structure and function in Great Lakes rivermouths based on studies in both Laurentian rivermouths, coastal wetlands, and marine estuarine systems. A conceptual model is presented that establishes a common semantic framework for discussing the characteristic spatial features of rivermouths. This model then is used to conceptually link ecosystem structure and function to ecological services provided by rivermouths. This synthesis helps identify the critical gaps in understanding rivermouth ecology. Specifically, additional information is needed on how rivermouths collectively influence the Great Lakes ecosystem, how human alterations influence rivermouth functions, and how ecosystem services provided by rivermouths can be managed to benefit the surrounding socioeconomic networks.

  12. Measures to ensure economic safety of the system of state regulation of social and economic development by the example of the Voronezh region and AO concern "Constellation"

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu. M. Sokolinskaya

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Growth of competitiveness and socio-economic development of Russia and its regions are impossible without ensuring economic security of enterprises of all sectors of the economy and forms of ownership, which is especially important in the face of economic sanctions and the negative impact of global economic crises. The program of social and economic development is a unique strategy of the region, focused on security and optimization of the spatial structure and relations between the center and the regions in order to ensure economic security, growth through the most effective use of existing internal and external factors. The institutional influence of the state in order to improve the economic security of regions and enterprises occurs palliatively when the business of the region is supported in direct (subsidies, and more often indirectly (compliance with the laws and regulations of the Russian Federation and the region on the principles of institutional and market synergies. Adaptation of enterprises in the region to the market is difficult, when specific socio-organizational, economic, technical and technological, scientific, information activities in their interrelations function in the field of Russian laws. The search for ways to improve the economic security of the Russian Federation, regions and enterprises takes place in the context of global integration through the improvement of the mechanism of state regulation. An important task of the current stage of economic security of the country and regions is the construction of a system of its institutional organization that would be able to balance the levers of government with the opportunities of private enterprises, provide a quality level of providing the business with protection from terrorism, predation, financial risks, legal competition and.

  13. Environmental Concerns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alma, Peter

    1995-04-01

    This series of A-level social biology topic books responds to the changing demands of social biology syllabuses, with each text dealing with a particular area of interest. Although the series is primarily intended for students of A-level social biology, the books will appeal to students studying a wide range of biological subjects at A-level. Environmental Concerns covers topics common to several A-level human and social biology syllabuses. It is particularly relevant to the human ecology and conservation options. The text focuses on the social and economic implications of current ecological issues as well as the basic biological concepts involved. It deals with the causes, effects and prevention of atmospheric and water pollution as well as with the disruption of ecosystems by changes in land use. The conflict of interests between conservation and exploitation is discussed, along with management techniques including the controversial method of culling to maintain diversity. The moral and aesthetic aspects of conservation and management are emphasised throughout, in addition to the scientific background of these techniques.

  14. Should the decline in the personal saving rate be a cause for concern?

    OpenAIRE

    C. Alan Garner

    2006-01-01

    The personal saving rate has received particular attention recently because saving was negative in 2005 for the first time since the Great Depression. Although saving declined in other developed countries during this period, the U.S. decline was more pronounced than in most of these countries. ; A major concern is whether U.S. households are providing adequately for long-term needs, such as future retirement and medical expenses. In addition, low personal saving has created short-run concerns...

  15. Socio-economic patterning in early mortality of patients aged 0-49 years diagnosed with primary bone cancer in Great Britain, 1985-2008.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blakey, Karen; Feltbower, Richard G; James, Peter W; Libby, Gillian; Stiller, Charles; Norman, Paul; Gerrand, Craig; McNally, Richard J Q

    2018-04-01

    Studies have shown marked improvements in survival between 1981 and 2000 for Ewing sarcoma patients but not for osteosarcoma. This study aimed to explore socio-economic patterning in early mortality rates for both tumours. The study analysed all 2432 osteosarcoma and 1619 Ewing sarcoma cases, aged 0-49 years, diagnosed in Great Britain 1985-2008 and followed to 31/12/2009. Logistic regression models were used to calculate risk of dying within three months, six months, one year, three years and five years after diagnosis. Associations with Townsend deprivation score and its components were examined at small-area level. Urban/rural status was studied at larger regional level. For osteosarcoma, after age adjustment, mortality at three months, six months and one year was associated with higher area unemployment, OR = 1.05 (95% CI 1.00, 1.10), OR = 1.04 (95% CI 1.01, 1.08) and OR = 1.04 (95% CI 1.02, 1.06) respectively per 1% increase in unemployment. Mortality at six months was associated with greater household non-car ownership, OR = 1.02 (95% CI 1.00, 1.03). For Ewing sarcoma, there were no significant associations between mortality and overall Townsend score, nor its components for any time period. For both tumours increasing mortality was associated with less urban and more remote rural areas. This study found that for osteosarcoma, early mortality was associated with residence at diagnosis in areas of higher unemployment, suggesting risk of early death may be socio-economically determined. For both tumours, distance from urban centres may lead to greater risk of early death. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. The relationship between economic conditions and postpartum depression in Taiwan: a nationwide population-based study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Fung-Wei; Lee, Wen-Ying; Liu, Yueh-Ping; Yang, Jing-Jung; Chen, Shu-Pin; Cheng, Kuan-Chen; Lin, Yan-Cen; Ho, Te-Wei; Chiu, Feng-Hsiang; Hsu, Ren-Jun; Liu, Jui-Ming

    2016-11-01

    Understanding mothers' economic conditions and postpartum depression (PPD) is important for determining how they will take care of themselves and their infants during the postnatal period, especially for low-income families. This study examined the relationship between economic conditions and PPD to elucidate the effect of economic contraction on PPD. Our population-based nationwide study used 2000-2013 the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan. A total of 1240 newly diagnosed PPD patients were recruited. We used the database of the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting, and Statistics of Executive Yuan of Taiwan for national economic indicators. The correlation between economic indicators and PPD was examined. The PPD incidence was positively correlated with yearly unemployment rate, consumer price index, and gross domestic product. During the great recession of 2008-2009, PPD was positively correlated with inflation rate. Consumer price index had a positive correlation with PPD incidence per month when comparing PPD in 2010 with the economic indicators during the great recession. As this retrospective study evaluated macroeconomic indicators, it is unclear whether the macroeconomic indicators' effect on PPD totally reflects the effect of true personal economic status on PPD. There was a significant association between PPD and economic conditions. This study shows that mothers' familial environment plays an important role in the development of PPD. The impact of the worldwide economic downturn of the great recession on women is persistent. This useful finding may give health policy planners a hint of early discovering and dealing with PPD when worldwide economic downturn. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Results of a modeling workshop concerning economic and environmental trends and concomitant resource management issues in the Mobile Bay area

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamilton, David B.; Andrews, Austin K.; Auble, Gregor T.; Ellison, Richard A.; Johnson, Richard A.; Roelle, James E.; Staley, Michael J.

    1982-01-01

    During the past decade, the southern regions of the U.S. have experienced rapid change which is expected to continue into the foreseeable future. Growth in population, industry, and resource development has been attributed to a variety of advantages such as an abundant and inexpensive labor force, a mild climate, and the availability of energy, water, land, and other natural resources. While this growth has many benefits for the region, it also creates the potential for increased air, water, and solid waste pollution, and modification of natural habitats. A workshop was convened to consider the Mobile Bay area as a site-specific case of growth and its environmental consequences in the southern region. The objectives of the modeling workshop were to: (1) identify major factors of economic development as they relate to growth in the area over the immediate and longer term; (2) identify major environmental and resource management issues associated with this expected growth; and (3) identify and characterize the complex interrelationships among economic and environmental factors. This report summarizes the activities and results of a modeling workshop concerning economic growth and concomitant resource management issues in the Mobile Bay area. The workshop was organized around construction of a simulation model representing the relationships between a series of actions and indicators identified by participants. The workshop model had five major components. An Industry Submodel generated scenarios of growth in several industrial and transportation sectors. A Human Population/Economy Submodel calculated human population and economic variables in response to employment opportunities. A Land Use/Air Quality Submodel tabulated changes in land use, shoreline use, and air quality. A Water Submodel calculated indicators of water quality and quantity for fresh surface water, ground water, and Mobile Bay based on discharge information provided by the Industry and Human

  18. Priority setting for invasive species management: risk assessment of Ponto-Caspian invasive species into Great Britain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallardo, Belinda; Aldridge, David C

    2013-03-01

    Invasive species drive important ecological and economic losses across wide geographies, with some regions supporting especially large numbers of nonnative species and consequently suffering relatively high impacts. For this reason, integrated risk assessments able to screen a suite of multiple invaders over large geographic areas are needed for prioritizing the allocation of limited resources. A total of 16 Ponto-Caspian aquatic species (10 gammarids, one isopod, two mysids, and three fishes) have been short-listed as recent or potential future invaders of British waters, whose introduction and spread is of high concern. In this study, we use multiple modeling techniques to assess their risk of establishment and spread into Great Britain. Climate suitability maps for these 16 species differed depending on the eastern and western distribution of species in continental Europe, which was related to their respective migration corridor: southern (Danube-Rhine rivers), and northern (Don and Volga rivers and Baltic lakes). Species whose suitability was high across large parts of Great Britain included four gammarids (Cheliorophium robustum, Dikerogammarus bispinosus, D. villosus, and Echinogammarus trichiatus) and a mysid (Hemimysis anomala). A climatic "heat map" combining the results of all 16 species together pointed to the southeast of England as the area most vulnerable to multiple invasions, particularly the Thames, Anglian, Severn, and Humber river basin districts. Regression models further suggested that alkalinity concentration > 120 mg/L in southeast England may favor the establishment of Ponto-Caspian invaders. The production of integrated risk maps for future invaders provides a means for the scientifically informed prioritization of resources toward particular species and geographic regions. Such tools have great utility in helping environmental managers focus efforts on the most effective prevention, management, and monitoring programs.

  19. Economic policy uncertainty index and economic activity: what causes what?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivana Lolić

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper is a follow-up on the Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU index, developed in 2011 by Baker, Bloom, and Davis. The principal idea of the EPU index is to quantify the level of uncertainty in an economic system, based on three separate pillars: news media, number of federal tax code provisions expiring in the following years, and disagreement amongst professional forecasters on future tendencies of relevant macroeconomic variables. Although the original EPU index was designed and published for the US economy, it had instantly caught the attention of numerous academics and was rapidly introduced in 15 countries worldwide. Extensive academic debate has been triggered on the importance of economic uncertainty relating to the intensity and persistence of the recent crisis. Despite the intensive (mostly politically-motivated debate, formal scientific confirmation of causality running from the EPU index to economic activity has not followed. Moreover, empirical literature has completely failed to conduct formal econometric testing of the Granger causality between the two mentioned phenomena. This paper provides an estimation of the Toda-Yamamoto causality test between the EPU index and economic activity in the USA and several European countries. The results do not provide a general conclusion: causality seems to run in both directions only for the USA, while only in one direction for France and Germany. Having taken into account the Great Recession of 2008, the main result does not change, therefore casting doubt on the index methodology and overall media bias.

  20. Economics of gas to liquids manufacture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gradassi, M.J.

    1998-01-01

    The last year has seen a great deal in the literature about the rebirth of gas to liquids processes, most notably, Fischer Tropsch processes. This renewed interest has been brought about by a technology that is said to have been so improved that it is now a commercially attractive option for natural gas monetization. No one single reason can be cited for this positive economic change. Rather, it is the result of several technological improvements that together have cut the capital cost of Fischer-Tropsch gas to liquids projects in half. Among these technological improvements are lower cost syngas preparation and lower cost gas to liquids reactors. This paper examines the economics of Fischer-Tropsch gas to liquids manufacture, using recent literature articles to develop process capital costs, operating expenses, liquid product value parameters, and other economic factors, to paint a general picture of the technology's current economic status. While manufacturing economics are reviewed, the answer to the question of gas to liquids project profitability is left to the individual investor whose economic thresholds must, in the final analysis, be met. 15 refs

  1. Quality of Life for the Aging: Home Economics' Role

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montgomery, James E.

    1978-01-01

    Stating that home economists are directly related to concerns of the aged, the author notes some major specializations in home economics and how they can offer help to old people: housing and equipment, family and interpersonal relations, food and nutrition, clothing, consumer economics, and home management. (MF)

  2. Transportation strategy development under economic uncertainty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-01

    The interests of the researchers here were to understand various modes for developing long term : that is strategic plans with particular concern for the economic uncertainties one invariably : faces in such a planning environment. Often resou...

  3. Impacts of Seaport Investment on the Economic Growth

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tahar Ammar Jouili

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to estimate the impact of seaports investment on the economic growth. Seaports are seen by many governments as an important factor in the strengthening of the economies. During the last two decades, the Tunisian succeeding governments have been allocating a great amount of money to develop seaport infrastructures. However, the Tunisian economy witnessed fluctuations in the economic growth rates and decrease in the rate of employment during the same period of time. This study used an econometric model by employing the Cobb-Douglas production function. The sample was composed of Tunisia's economic sectors (manufacturing, services and agriculture over the period 1983-2011. The results of the study show that the public investment in seaport infrastructures has apositive influence on Tunisian economic growth. The study also revealed that the biggest beneficiary from the seaport investment infrastructure is the service sector.This paper aims to estimate the impact of seaports investment on the economic growth. The seaports are seen by many governments as an important factor in the strengthening of the economies. During the last two decades, the Tunisian succeeding governments were allocating a great amount of money to develop seaports' infrastructures. However, the Tunisian economy witnessed fluctuating in the economic growth rates and decreased in the rate of employment during the same period of time. This study used an econometric model by employing the Cobb-Douglas production function. The sample composed of Tunisia's economic sectors (manufacturing, services and agriculture over the period 1983-2011. The results of the study show that the public investment in seaports' infrastructures has a positive influence on Tunisian economic growth. The study also revealed that the biggest beneficiary from the seaports investment infrastructure is the services sector.

  4. Changes in suicide rates in disaster-stricken areas following the Great East Japan Earthquake and their effect on economic factors: an ecological study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orui, Masatsugu; Harada, Shuichiro; Hayashi, Mizuho

    2014-11-01

    Devastating disasters may increase suicide rates due to mental distress. Previous domestic studies have reported decreased suicide rates among men following disasters. Few reports are available regarding factors associated with disasters, making it difficult to discuss how these events affect suicide rates. This study aimed to observe changes in suicide rates in disaster-stricken and neighboring areas following the Great East Japan Earthquake, and examine associations between suicide rates and economic factors. Monthly suicide rates were observed from March 2009 to February 2013, during which time the earthquake occurred on March, 2011. Data were included from disaster-stricken (Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima Prefectures) and neighboring (control: Aomori, Akita, and Yamagata Prefectures) areas. The association between changes in suicide rates and economic variables was evaluated based on the number of bankruptcy cases and ratio of effective job offers. In disaster-stricken areas, post-disaster male suicide rates decreased during the 24 months following the earthquake. This trend differed relative to control areas. Female suicide rates increased during the first seven months. Multiple regression analysis showed that bankruptcy cases (β = 0.386, p = 0.038) and ratio of effective job offers (β = -0.445, p = 0.018) were only significantly associated with male post-disaster suicide rates in control areas. Post-disaster suicide rates differed by gender following the earthquake. Our findings suggest that considering gender differences might be important for developing future post-disaster suicide prevention measures. This ecological study revealed that increasing effective job offers and decreasing bankruptcy cases can affect protectively male suicide rates in control areas.

  5. Ancient analogues concerning stability and durability of cementitious wasteform

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang, W.; Roy, D.M.

    1994-01-01

    The history of cementitious materials goes back to ancient times. The Greeks and Romans used calcined limestone and later developed pozzolanic cement by grinding together lime and volcanic ash called open-quotes pozzolanclose quotes which was first found near Port Pozzuoli, Italy. The ancient Chinese used lime-pozzolanic mixes to build the Great Wall. The ancient Egyptians used calcined impure gypsum to build the Great Pyramid of Cheops. The extraordinary stability and durability of these materials has impressed us, when so much dramatically damaged infrastructure restored by using modern portland cement now requires rebuilding. Stability and durability of cementitious materials have attracted intensive research interest and contractors' concerns, as does immobilization of radioactive and hazardous industrial waste in cementitious materials. Nuclear waste pollution of the environment and an acceptable solution for waste management and disposal constitute among the most important public concerns. The analogy of ancient cementitious materials to modern Portland cement could give us some clues to study their stability and durability. This present study examines selected results of studies of ancient building materials from France, Italy, China, and Egypt, combined with knowledge obtained from the behavior of modern portland cement to evaluate the potential for stability and durability of such materials in nuclear waste forms

  6. Economic aspects of thermal treatment of solid waste in a sustainable WM system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Massarutto, Antonio

    2015-03-15

    Highlights: • Provides a comprehensive review of the applied economic literature dedicated to WtE. • Offers a detailed discussion of the main assumptions that characterize alternative positions. • Highlights the most robust achievements obtained by the applied economic research in this field. • Compares economic and non-economic valuation techniques. - Abstract: This paper offers a systematic review of the literature of the last 15 years, which applies economic analysis and theories to the issue of combustion of solid waste. Waste incineration has attracted the interest of economists in the first place concerning the comparative assessment of waste management options, with particular reference to external costs and benefits. A second important field of applied economic research concerns the market failures associated with the provision of thermal treatment of waste, that justify some deviation from the standard competitive market model. Our analysis discusses the most robust achievements and the more controversial areas. All in all, the economic perspective seems to confirm the desirability of assigning a prominent role to thermal treatments in an integrated waste management strategy. Probably the most interesting original contribution it has to offer concerns the refusal of categorical assumptions and too rigid priority ladders, emphasizing instead the need to consider site-specific circumstances that may favor one or another solution.

  7. Economic aspects of thermal treatment of solid waste in a sustainable WM system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Massarutto, Antonio

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Provides a comprehensive review of the applied economic literature dedicated to WtE. • Offers a detailed discussion of the main assumptions that characterize alternative positions. • Highlights the most robust achievements obtained by the applied economic research in this field. • Compares economic and non-economic valuation techniques. - Abstract: This paper offers a systematic review of the literature of the last 15 years, which applies economic analysis and theories to the issue of combustion of solid waste. Waste incineration has attracted the interest of economists in the first place concerning the comparative assessment of waste management options, with particular reference to external costs and benefits. A second important field of applied economic research concerns the market failures associated with the provision of thermal treatment of waste, that justify some deviation from the standard competitive market model. Our analysis discusses the most robust achievements and the more controversial areas. All in all, the economic perspective seems to confirm the desirability of assigning a prominent role to thermal treatments in an integrated waste management strategy. Probably the most interesting original contribution it has to offer concerns the refusal of categorical assumptions and too rigid priority ladders, emphasizing instead the need to consider site-specific circumstances that may favor one or another solution

  8. Developing a hybrid solar/wind powered irrigation system for crops in the Great Plains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Some small scale irrigation systems (powered by wind or solar do not require subsidies, but this paper discusses ways to achieve an economical renewable energy powered center pivot irrigation system for crops in the Great Plains. By adding a solar-photovoltaic (PV) array together with a wind...

  9. China Report, Economic Affairs

    Science.gov (United States)

    1986-02-11

    percent of members of leading groups of large and medium-sized back- bone enterprises have received education at and above college level. The average...enterprises, so that enterprises genuinely become lively "economic cells ," not simply subsidiaries of administrative organs. 4. In the sphere of...electric power stations, and breweries , resulting in great losses and waste. Such a state of affairs will certainly achieve no further development. 31

  10. Energy decisions reframed as justice and ethical concerns

    OpenAIRE

    Sovacool, Benjamin; Heffron, Raphael J.; McCauley, Darren; Goldthau, Andreas

    2016-01-01

    All too often, energy policy and technology discussions are limited to the domains of engineering and economics. Many energy consumers, and even analysts and policymakers, confront and frame energy and climate risks in a moral vacuum, rarely incorporating broader social justice concerns. Here, to remedy this gap, we investigate how concepts from justice and ethics can inform energy decision-making by reframing five energy problems — nuclear waste, involuntary resettlement, energy pollution, e...

  11. The economics of information security and privacy

    CERN Document Server

    Böhme, Rainer

    2013-01-01

    In the late 1990s, researchers began to grasp that the roots of many information security failures can be better explained with the language of economics than by pointing to instances of technical flaws. This led to a thriving new interdisciplinary research field combining economic and engineering insights, measurement approaches and methodologies to ask fundamental questions concerning the viability of a free and open information society. While economics and information security comprise the nucleus of an academic movement that quickly drew the attention of thinktanks, industry, and governmen

  12. Water use benefit index as a tool for community-based monitoring of water related trends in the Great Barrier Reef region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smajgl, A.; Larson, S.; Hug, B.; De Freitas, D. M.

    2010-12-01

    SummaryThis paper presents a tool for documenting and monitoring water use benefits in the Great Barrier Reef catchments that allows temporal and spatial comparison along the region. Water, water use benefits and water allocations are currently receiving much attention from Australian policy makers and conservation practitioners. Because of the inherent complexity and variability in water quality, it is essential that scientific information is presented in a meaningful way to policy makers, managers and ultimately, to the general public who have to live with the consequences of the decisions. We developed an inexpensively populated and easily understandable water use benefit index as a tool for community-based monitoring of water related trends in the Great Barrier Reef region. The index is developed based on a comparative list of selected water-related indices integrating attributes across physico-chemical, economic, social, and ecological domains currently used in the assessment of water quality, water quantity and water use benefits in Australia. Our findings indicate that the proposed index allows the identification of water performance indicators by temporal and spatial comparisons. Benefits for decision makers and conservation practitioners include a flexible way of prioritization towards the domain with highest concern. The broader community benefits from a comprehensive and user-friendly tool, communicating changes in water quality trends more effectively.

  13. Review of Infectious Disease Report in Great Britain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V.D. Sorokhan

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with an analysis of infectious disease report in Great Britain that is a member of the European Union. There are listed the infectious diseases and infectious agents of these diseases. There are described in detail how to fill the notification form and the methods and terms of sending it to Public Health England. Attention is focused on the importance of the analysis of infectious disease report in the European Union in the light of cooperation between Ukraine and the EU after the economic component of the Association Agreement has been signed.

  14. Econophysics and physical economics

    CERN Document Server

    Richmond, Peter; Hutzler, Stefan

    2013-01-01

    An understanding of the behaviour of financial assets and the evolution of economies has never been as important as today. This book looks at these complex systems from the perspective of the physicist. So called 'econophysics' and its application to finance has made great strides in recent years. Less emphasis has been placed on the broader subject of macroeconomics and many economics students are still taught traditional neo-classical economics. The reader is given a general primer in statistical physics, probability theory, and use of correlation functions. Much of the mathematics that is developed is frequently no longer included in undergraduate physics courses. The statistical physics of Boltzmann and Gibbs is one of the oldest disciplines within physics and it can be argued that it was first applied to ensembles of molecules as opposed to being applied to social agents only by way of historical accident. The authors argue by analogy that the theory can be applied directly to economic systems comprising...

  15. The economic costs of energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brookes, L.G.

    1980-01-01

    At a recent symposium, the economic costs of nuclear power were examined in four lectures which considered; (1) The performance of different types, size and ages of nuclear power plants. (2) The comparison between coal and nuclear power costs based on the principle of net effective cash. (3) The capital requirements of a nuclear programme. (4) The comparative costs, now and in the future, of coal-fired and nuclear plants. It is concluded that uncertainties seem to get greater rather than smaller with time probably due to the high and fluctuating world inflation rates and the great uncertainty about world economic performance introduced by the politicising of world oil supplies. (UK)

  16. The Economic Impact of Weight Regain

    OpenAIRE

    Sheppard, Caroline E.; Lester, Erica L. W.; Chuck, Anderson W.; Birch, Daniel W.; Karmali, Shahzeer; de Gara, Christopher J.

    2013-01-01

    Background. Obesity is well known for being associated with significant economic repercussions. Bariatric surgery is the only evidence-based solution to this problem as well as a cost-effective method of addressing the concern. Numerous authors have calculated the cost effectiveness and cost savings of bariatric surgery; however, to date the economic impact of weight regain as a component of overall cost has not been addressed. Methods. The literature search was conducted to elucidate the dir...

  17. The economic implications of Korean unification

    OpenAIRE

    Schmitz, Jonathan L.

    2002-01-01

    Approved for public release; distribution unlimited A major area of concern for Korean unification is the immense cost it will impose on South Korea. To lessen this burden, South Korea will need to initiate policy reforms that can ease the financial stress and repercussions of unification and create an integrated economic community with North Korea. At the same time, North Korea will need to create an environment that is conducive to economic integration by accepting and adopting reform me...

  18. On worries, concerns and dangers among spanish population: a qualitative analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martinez, R.; Cebrian, A.L.; Menard, M.; Sola, R.; Prades, A.

    1998-01-01

    This paper presents qualitative findings on the principal worries, concerns and dangers surrounding risk perception extracted from the Cross-cultural Survey carried out within RISKPERCOM' research project (Risk Perception and Communication). A questionnaire was mailed to a random sample of the Spanish population allowing a study of amplification/attenuation with regard to the tenth anniversary as well as investigating management and communication issues related to radiological matters. The questionnaires were mailed to the adult population from 18 to 75 years of age, where 48.9% males and 51.1 % females. The number of questionnaires obtained for each wave were 490. The response rate was around 69%. At this paper we present the principal concerns, worries and dangers perceived by the Spanish population as identified through three open questions. The items were grouped in different categories; national political situation, economical concern, personal/social concerns, environmental concerns, global concerns... These categories are associated through correspondence analysis to socio-demographical variables as sex, age, education, political orientation an environmental attitude. (authors)

  19. Assets among low-income families in the Great Recession.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valentina Duque

    Full Text Available This paper examines the association between the Great Recession and real assets among families with young children. Real assets such as homes and cars are key indicators of economic well-being that may be especially valuable to low-income families. Using longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 4,898, we investigate the association between the city unemployment rate and home and car ownership and how the relationship varies by family structure (married, cohabiting, and single parents and by race/ethnicity (White, Black, and Hispanic mothers. Using mother fixed-effects models, we find that a one percentage point increase in the unemployment rate is associated with a -0.5 percentage point decline in the probability of home ownership and a -0.7 percentage point decline in the probability of car ownership. We also find that the recession was associated with lower levels of home ownership for cohabiting families and for Hispanic families, as well as lower car ownership among single mothers and among Black mothers, whereas no change was observed among married families or White households. Considering that homes and cars are the most important assets among middle and low-income households in the U.S., these results suggest that the rise in the unemployment rate during the Great Recession may have increased household asset inequality across family structures and race/ethnicities, limiting economic mobility, and exacerbating the cycle of poverty.

  20. Assets among low-income families in the Great Recession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duque, Valentina; Pilkauskas, Natasha V; Garfinkel, Irwin

    2018-01-01

    This paper examines the association between the Great Recession and real assets among families with young children. Real assets such as homes and cars are key indicators of economic well-being that may be especially valuable to low-income families. Using longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 4,898), we investigate the association between the city unemployment rate and home and car ownership and how the relationship varies by family structure (married, cohabiting, and single parents) and by race/ethnicity (White, Black, and Hispanic mothers). Using mother fixed-effects models, we find that a one percentage point increase in the unemployment rate is associated with a -0.5 percentage point decline in the probability of home ownership and a -0.7 percentage point decline in the probability of car ownership. We also find that the recession was associated with lower levels of home ownership for cohabiting families and for Hispanic families, as well as lower car ownership among single mothers and among Black mothers, whereas no change was observed among married families or White households. Considering that homes and cars are the most important assets among middle and low-income households in the U.S., these results suggest that the rise in the unemployment rate during the Great Recession may have increased household asset inequality across family structures and race/ethnicities, limiting economic mobility, and exacerbating the cycle of poverty.

  1. Assets among low-income families in the Great Recession

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garfinkel, Irwin

    2018-01-01

    This paper examines the association between the Great Recession and real assets among families with young children. Real assets such as homes and cars are key indicators of economic well-being that may be especially valuable to low-income families. Using longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 4,898), we investigate the association between the city unemployment rate and home and car ownership and how the relationship varies by family structure (married, cohabiting, and single parents) and by race/ethnicity (White, Black, and Hispanic mothers). Using mother fixed-effects models, we find that a one percentage point increase in the unemployment rate is associated with a -0.5 percentage point decline in the probability of home ownership and a -0.7 percentage point decline in the probability of car ownership. We also find that the recession was associated with lower levels of home ownership for cohabiting families and for Hispanic families, as well as lower car ownership among single mothers and among Black mothers, whereas no change was observed among married families or White households. Considering that homes and cars are the most important assets among middle and low-income households in the U.S., these results suggest that the rise in the unemployment rate during the Great Recession may have increased household asset inequality across family structures and race/ethnicities, limiting economic mobility, and exacerbating the cycle of poverty. PMID:29401482

  2. Economic analysis of wood energy valorization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fries, Juliana.

    1988-01-01

    Companies linked to the lumber activities began to concern about the valorization of their industrial residues: either by creating new products or by utilizing them for energy generation. At the same time, companies from other sectors began investing in reforestations dedicated to energy generation (mainly eucalyptus), induced by the possibility of obtaining tax incentives and by the need of assuring their own provisions of wood, thus minimizing this raw-material, as well as its sensibility to the variation of its price in the market. However almost nothing have been researched, either about the economical feasibility of energetic valorization of the lumber in the form of industrial residues or as wood supplied by reforestation dedicated to energy generation. This dissertation propose to examine those cases analysing the concerned costs and their economical feasibility. (author). 20 refs., 19 figs., 32 tabs

  3. Ronald Reagan's Economic Jeremiad.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johannesen, Richard L.

    1986-01-01

    Considers President Reagan's address to the nation on February 5, 1981, concerning the state of the economy, as a contemporary secular version of the jeremiad, a rhetorical form that has persisted in America since colonial times. Describes Reagan's skillful use of the genre to motivate public response to what he viewed as an economic crisis. (NKA)

  4. What fosters concern for inequality among American adolescents?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cech, Erin A

    2017-01-01

    Understanding cultural beliefs about social and economic inequality is vital to discerning the roadblocks and pathways to addressing that inequality. The foundation of concern for inequality is laid during adolescence, yet scholars understand little about the factors that influence whether and how adolescents come to express such concern. Arguing that structural and cultural contexts are just as consequential as whether adolescents themselves are members of disadvantaged groups, I draw on four theoretical perspectives to identify factors that influence adolescents' concern for addressing inequality: the underdog thesis, intergroup contact theory, the education enlightens thesis, and ideological buttressing. Using representative restricted-use Educational Longitudinal Survey data, I find that 12th-graders' beliefs are indeed influenced by more than their own demography: the diversity of their social milieu, the content of education in and out of the classroom, and ideological buttressing via political region and entertainment all influence whether they express concern for addressing inequality. These findings suggest extensions and amendments to the four theoretical perspectives and underscore the importance of studying structural and cultural factors that shape beliefs about inequality. The results also point to several interventions that may increase students' concern for inequality: involvement in civic-oriented extracurricular activities, more education in academic subjects that consider inequality, nurturing of cross-race friendships, and increased leisure reading. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Education's Effect on Income Inequality: An Economic Globalisation Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wells, Ryan

    2006-01-01

    Utilising a globalisation framework this study contributes to discussions concerning inequality, education, and development by re-examining the effects of educational and economic variables on income inequality. This research shows that the effects of education on income inequality are affected by the level of economic freedom in a country, and…

  6. A CUT VIEW CONCERNING THE ECONOMICAL TRANSFORMATION GENERATED BY THE WEALTH TAX: SEIZURE FOR BAHTIYAR HAN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Başak ERGÜDER

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available market and monopoly as target in eliminating the shortages caused by the money supply shortages and high inflation rates in Turkey during World War II. But the hidden goal of this this law was to realize an economical transformation. The classification of the taxpayers as G (Non-muslims, M (Muslims, D (Proselyte and E (Foreigners, the inclination towards real estates owners and merchants in tax assessment, tax collection made mostly in İstanbul caused a problematic table in terms of taxation principles. 87 per cent of all taxpayers in Turkey was non-muslims and 54 per cent was in İstanbul. 68 per cent of the taxes accrued in Turkey was accrued in Istanbul and 70 per cent of the taxes collected in the country was paid in İstanbul. It can be clearly seen in this table that this tax could not realise the principle of universality and equality and that the outputs of Wealth Tax was to realize the economical transformation. In this study, the outputs of the economical transformation generated by the Wealth Tax Law will be analyzed in terms of Turkification of the economy. Although the target of reducing the money supply and decreasing the inflation rates were not accomplished via Wealth Tax Law, the economic transformation, which was the hidden goal of the law, was realized. In this study it will be focused in the role of SEE’s and public organizations in the sales and seizures made due to Wealth Tax. The seizure of Bahtiyar Han’s possessions by the Soil Products Office will be analyzed. This case deserves to be discussed and analyzed in terms of showing the mentality of the economical transformation and of the role of the public organizations in this period.

  7. Environmental Concerns, Environmental Policy and Green Investment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Xuexian; Zheng, Haidong

    2017-12-13

    Environmental regulators often use environmental policy to induce green investment by firms. However, if an environmental policy fails to exert a long-run effect on regulating the economic agents' behavior, it may be more reasonable to think of the firm as the leader in the game, since the investment in green technology is usually a strategic decision. In this paper, we consider a three-stage Stackelberg game to address the interaction between a profit-maximizing firm (Stackelberg leader) facing emission-dependent demand, and the environmental regulator (Stackelberg follower). The firm decides on the green technology level in the first stage of the game based on its understanding of the regulator's profits function, especially an environmental concern that is introduced as an exogenous variable. In the current research, we show that high levels of the regulator's environmental concerns do not necessarily lead to the choice of green technology by the firm, and green investment level depends on the combined effects of the market and operational factors for a given level of the regulator's environmental concerns. The result also shows that increasing environmental awareness amongst the consumers is an effective way to drive the firm's green investment.

  8. Deliberative ecological economics: emergence and research issues

    OpenAIRE

    Zografos, Christos; Howarth, Richard B.

    2010-01-01

    We discuss the recent emergence of "deliberative ecological economics", a field that highlights the potential of deliberation for improving environmental governance. We locate the emergence of this literature in the long concern in ecological economics over the policy implications of limited views of human action and its encounter with deliberative democracy scholarship and the model of communicative rationality as an alternative to utilitarianism. Considering criticisms over methods used and...

  9. Deliberative ecological economics : emergence and research issues

    OpenAIRE

    Zografos, Christos

    2010-01-01

    We discuss the recent emergence of "deliberative ecological economics", a field that highlights the potential of deliberation for improving environmental governance. We locate the emergence of this literature in the long concern in ecological economics over the policy implications of limited views of human action and its encounter with deliberative democracy scholarship and the model of communicative rationality as an alternative to utilitarianism. Considering criticisms over methods used and...

  10. The Great Recession, genetic sensitivity, and maternal harsh parenting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Dohoon; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne; McLanahan, Sara S; Notterman, Daniel; Garfinkel, Irwin

    2013-08-20

    Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, this study examined the effects of the Great Recession on maternal harsh parenting. We found that changes in macroeconomic conditions, rather than current conditions, affected harsh parenting, that declines in macroeconomic conditions had a stronger impact on harsh parenting than improvements in conditions, and that mothers' responses to adverse economic conditions were moderated by the DRD2 Taq1A genotype. We found no evidence of a moderating effect for two other, less well-studied SNPs from the DRD4 and DAT1 genes.

  11. MIGRATION IMPACT ON ECONOMICAL SITUATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Virginia COJOCARU

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents recent trends and flows of labor migration and its impact on economic and social life. Main aim of this research sets up the influence of the migration on the European economics and its competitiveness. Methods of research are: method of comparison, analysis method, method of deduction, method of statistics, modeling method. The economic impact of migration has been intensively studied but is still often driven by ill-informed perceptions, which, in turn, can lead to public antagonism towards migration. These negative views risk jeopardising efforts to adapt migration policies to the new economic and demographic challenges facing many countries. Migration Policy looks at the evidence for how immigrants affect the economy in three main areas: The labour market, public purse and economic growth. In Europe, the scope of labour mobility greatly increased within the EU/EFTA zones following the EU enlargements of 2004, 2007 and 2014-2015. This added to labour markets’ adjustment capacity. Recent estimates suggest that as much as a quarter of the asymmetric labour market shock – that is occurring at different times and with different intensities across countries – may have been absorbed by migration within a year.

  12. Identity-driven differences in stakeholder concerns about hunting wolves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lute, Michelle L; Bump, Adam; Gore, Meredith L

    2014-01-01

    Whereas past wolf management in the United States was restricted to recovery, managers must now contend with publicly contentious post-recovery issues including regulated hunting seasons. Understanding stakeholder concerns associated with hunting can inform stakeholder engagement, communication, and policy development and evaluation. Social identity theory (SIT) has been used to understand how groups interact, why they conflict, and how collaboration may be achieved. Applying SIT to stakeholder conflicts about wolf hunting may help delineate groups according to their concern about, support for or opposition to the policy choice of hunting wolves. Our objective was to assess concerns about hunting as a tool to resolve conflict in Michigan, using SIT as a framework. We used a mixed-modal sampling approach (e.g., paper, Internet) with wolf hunting-related public meeting participants in March 2013. Survey questions focused on 12 concerns previously identified as associated with hunting as a management tool to resolve conflict. Respondents (n  =  666) cared greatly about wolves but were divided over hunting wolves. Wolf conflicts, use of science in policy decisions, and maintaining a wolf population were the highest ranked concerns. Principle components analysis reduced concerns into three factors that explained 50.7% of total variance; concerns crystallized over justifications for hunting. General linear models revealed a lack of geographic influence on care, fear and support for hunting related to wolves. These findings challenge assumptions about regional differences and suggest a strong role for social identity in driving dichotomized public perceptions in wildlife management.

  13. Identity-driven differences in stakeholder concerns about hunting wolves.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michelle L Lute

    Full Text Available Whereas past wolf management in the United States was restricted to recovery, managers must now contend with publicly contentious post-recovery issues including regulated hunting seasons. Understanding stakeholder concerns associated with hunting can inform stakeholder engagement, communication, and policy development and evaluation. Social identity theory (SIT has been used to understand how groups interact, why they conflict, and how collaboration may be achieved. Applying SIT to stakeholder conflicts about wolf hunting may help delineate groups according to their concern about, support for or opposition to the policy choice of hunting wolves. Our objective was to assess concerns about hunting as a tool to resolve conflict in Michigan, using SIT as a framework. We used a mixed-modal sampling approach (e.g., paper, Internet with wolf hunting-related public meeting participants in March 2013. Survey questions focused on 12 concerns previously identified as associated with hunting as a management tool to resolve conflict. Respondents (n  =  666 cared greatly about wolves but were divided over hunting wolves. Wolf conflicts, use of science in policy decisions, and maintaining a wolf population were the highest ranked concerns. Principle components analysis reduced concerns into three factors that explained 50.7% of total variance; concerns crystallized over justifications for hunting. General linear models revealed a lack of geographic influence on care, fear and support for hunting related to wolves. These findings challenge assumptions about regional differences and suggest a strong role for social identity in driving dichotomized public perceptions in wildlife management.

  14. Economic insecurity during the Great Recession and metabolic, inflammatory and liver function biomarkers: analysis of the UK Household Longitudinal Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niedzwiedz, Claire L; Katikireddi, Srinivasa Vittal; Reeves, Aaron; McKee, Martin; Stuckler, David

    2017-10-01

    Economic insecurity correlates with adverse health outcomes, but the biological pathways involved are not well understood. We examine how changes in economic insecurity relate to metabolic, inflammatory and liver function biomarkers. Blood analyte data were taken from 6520 individuals (aged 25-59 years) participating in Understanding Society. Economic insecurity was measured using an indicator of subjective financial strain and by asking participants whether they had missed any bill, council tax, rent or mortgage payments in the past year. We investigated longitudinal changes in economic insecurity (remained secure, increase in economic insecurity, decrease in economic insecurity, remained insecure) and the accumulation of economic insecurity. Linear regression models were calculated for nine (logged) biomarker outcomes related to metabolic, inflammatory, liver and kidney function (as falsification tests), adjusting for potential confounders. Compared with those who remained economically stable, people who experienced consistent economic insecurity (using both measures) had worsened levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, triglycerides, C reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen and glycated haemoglobin. Increased economic insecurity was associated with adverse levels of HDL-cholesterol (0.955, 95% CI 0.929 to 0.982), triglycerides (1.077, 95% CI 1.018 to 1.139) and CRP (1.114, 95% CI 1.012 to 1.227), using the measure of financial strain. Results for the other measure were generally consistent, apart from the higher levels of gamma-glutamyl transferase observed among those experiencing persistent insecurity (1.200, 95% CI 1.110 to 1.297). Economic insecurity is associated with adverse metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers (particularly HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides and CRP), heightening risk for a range of health conditions. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No

  15. HEALTH CARE ECONOMICS IN ROMANIA--DYNAMICS AND EVOLUTION.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tamba, B I; Azoicăi, Doina; Druguş, Daniela

    2016-01-01

    Health economics refers to the analysis of medical institutions considering their economic and social efficacy, but also the regularity and the relationships that govern the phenomena and the processes from the field of health with the final purpose of achieving better results with the minimum of resources; it represents the study of health price in its complexity. The economics of the population's health needs and in particular the health needs in case of the poor groups of the population, consider health to be the main component of global human vulnerability. Health economics tries to change the simple interpretation of health price and disease cost into a wider consideration of a system administration similar to educational and social economics and the study of health in the context of the multiple specializations of the macro economy of the national group, as it is an instrument in the country's great economics symphony.

  16. Complexity of Economical Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. P. Pavlos

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In this study new theoretical concepts are described concerning the interpretation of economical complex dynamics. In addition a summary of an extended algorithm of nonlinear time series analysis is provided which is applied not only in economical time series but also in other physical complex systems (e.g. [22, 24]. In general, Economy is a vast and complicated set of arrangements and actions wherein agents—consumers, firms, banks, investors, government agencies—buy and sell, speculate, trade, oversee, bring products into being, offer services, invest in companies, strategize, explore, forecast, compete, learn, innovate, and adapt. As a result the economic and financial variables such as foreign exchange rates, gross domestic product, interest rates, production, stock market prices and unemployment exhibit large-amplitude and aperiodic fluctuations evident in complex systems. Thus, the Economics can be considered as spatially distributed non-equilibrium complex system, for which new theoretical concepts, such as Tsallis non extensive statistical mechanics and strange dynamics, percolation, nonGaussian, multifractal and multiscale dynamics related to fractional Langevin equations can be used for modeling and understanding of the economical complexity locally or globally.

  17. The untold story: IDRC supported researchers transform economic ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    2017-08-17

    Aug 17, 2017 ... ... Program, he was cognizant of the great responsibility that came with his new role. ... Aikaeli Jehovaness, the chair of economics at the University of Dar es ... graduates of AERC training programs or teach in these programs.

  18. Historic, economic and geographic approach to the relations between economic growth and oil prices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Girard, C.

    1992-01-01

    This paper attempts to analyze the complex relations between energy prices and economic growth. In part 1, the history of the last 30 years is used to analyze the consequences of energy price variations on world economic growth. In part 2, two interpretation schemes are described successively. One has to do with the international oil market, and the other concerns the impact of oil shocks on national economies. In part 3, an approach by type of country leads to conclusions respectively for the industrialized countries, for the developing countries and for the newly industrialized countries. 1 fig

  19. NBIC-TECHNOLOGIES GET OVER ECONOMIC DEPRESSION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. A. Akaev

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper is reflecting results of forecasting scenario of economic growth and shown that NBIC-technologies, due to the powerful synergetic effect generating by a mutual convergence of nano-, bio-, info- and cognitive technologies, will give strong acceleration pace of technological progress, which exceeded the rate achieved in the previous upward wave of 5th great Kondratieff ’s economic cycle (1982–2006. On the base of theUSAeconomy data, the results of forecasting shows that the rate of technological progress will increase from 2,2% in 1980 to 3,5% in the 2030 s. 

  20. The strategic economic plan and the role of independent power in economic development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    House, D.

    1993-01-01

    Independent power production (IPP) in Newfoundland was examined within the context of the province's Strategic Economic Plan. Provisions of the Plan were summarized, with special reference to the promotion of alternative energy technologies and government efforts to amend regulations to facilitate development of alternative energy sources by independent producers. IPP was considered to be an ideal tool for regional economic development and diversification, assuming that environmental concerns were carefully considered and addressed. Some of the benefits ascribed to IPP included strengthening the private sector, creating new small business opportunities, improving competitiveness, promoting regional development, contributing to import substitution and enhance the province's technology and knowledge base

  1. Never So Important——First Sino-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Wen Xiu

    2009-01-01

    @@ The first Sino-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue was held on July 27 and 28,2009 in Washington.Either before or during the dialogue,PRC and USA attached great importance to it.The former Strategic Dialogue and the biannual Strategic Economic Dialogue were initiated by the two heads of state in 2005 and 2006 respectively.

  2. Medical and health economic assessment of radiosurgery for the treatment of brain metastasis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    von der Schulenburg, Johann-Matthias

    2009-03-01

    treatment groups. Methodologically less rigorous studies provide no conclusive evidence with regard to medical effectiveness and safety, comparing SRS to WBRT, neurosurgery (NS or hypofractionated radiotherapy (HCSRT. The quality of life is not investigated in any of the studies. Within the searched databases a total of 320 economic publications are identified. Five publications are eligible for this report. The five reports have a quiet variable quality. Concerning the economic efficiency of alternative equipment, while assuming equal effectiveness, the calculations show, that economic efficiency depends to a large extend on the number of patients treated. In case the two alternative equipments are used solely for SRS, the Gamma Knife might be more cost-efficient. Otherwise an adapted linear accelerator is most likely to be beneficial because of its flexibility. One Health Technology Assessment (HTA states, that the cost for a Gamma Knife and a dedicated linear accelerator are comparable, while an adapted version is cheaper. No reports concerning ethical, legal and social aspects are identified. Discussion: Overall, quantity and quality of identified studies is limited. However, the identified studies indicate that the prognosis of patients with brain metastases is despite highly developed and modern treatment regimes still limited. Conclusive evidence with regard to the effectiveness of identified interventions is only available for the combined treatment of SRS and WBRT compared to SRS or WBRT alone. Furthermore, there is insufficient evidence to compare SRS with WBRT, NS or HCSRT. The efficiency of the different equipments depends to a great extent on the number and the indications of the patients treated. If dedicated systems are used to their full capacity, there is some evidence for superior cost-effectiveness. If more treatment flexibility is required, adapted systems seem to be advantageous. However, equal treatment effectiveness is a necessary assumption for these

  3. Economic competitiveness of nuclear power in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu Chuanwen

    2005-01-01

    Development of nuclear power in China has made a good progress. Currently, economic competitiveness of nuclear power compared to fossil-fuelled power plants is one of the major problems which hamper its development. This article presents the economic competitiveness of nuclear power in China with two-level analyses. First, levelized lifetime cost method is adopted for electricity generation cost comparisons. Important factors influencing economic competitiveness of nuclear power are described. Furthermore, a broad economic evaluation of the full fuel chain of nuclear power and fossil-fuelled plants is discussed concerning macro social-economic issues, environmental and health impacts. The comprehensive comparative assessment would be carried out for decision making to implement nuclear power programme. In consideration of external costs and carbon value, the economic competitiveness of nuclear power would be further improved. Facing swift economic growth, huge energy demand and heavy environmental burden, nuclear power could play a significant role in sustainable development in China. (authors)

  4. Pecularities of Economic and Information Terminology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elvyra Vida Tadauskienė

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available The article investigates the pecularities of economic and information terminology and concludes their original source. As economic terms turn out to have appeared earlier than those of information, so the beginning of the emergence of them was influenced by the Greek and Latin languages. During the Soviet period economic terms were under the influence of the Russian language. A lot of information terms originated from the English language so the dominance of this language is still greatly felt. The common language can be considered to be the original source of some of the mentioned terminology when expanding the meaning of adequate terms. Translation of some of the terms creates problems related to the synonymous meaning of the terms or certain variations of the vocabulary meanings.

  5. Relevance of environmental concerns in contemplating development of fission fusion hybrids: a personal view

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holdren, J.

    1974-01-01

    A brief comparison of hybrids to pure fusion systems with respect to timing and economics is given. The relevance of environmental concerns is discussed along with environmental criteria for hybrid designs. (U.S.)

  6. Approaches to Refining Estimates of Global Burden and Economics of Dengue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shepard, Donald S.; Undurraga, Eduardo A.; Betancourt-Cravioto, Miguel; Guzmán, María G.; Halstead, Scott B.; Harris, Eva; Mudin, Rose Nani; Murray, Kristy O.; Tapia-Conyer, Roberto; Gubler, Duane J.

    2014-01-01

    Dengue presents a formidable and growing global economic and disease burden, with around half the world's population estimated to be at risk of infection. There is wide variation and substantial uncertainty in current estimates of dengue disease burden and, consequently, on economic burden estimates. Dengue disease varies across time, geography and persons affected. Variations in the transmission of four different viruses and interactions among vector density and host's immune status, age, pre-existing medical conditions, all contribute to the disease's complexity. This systematic review aims to identify and examine estimates of dengue disease burden and costs, discuss major sources of uncertainty, and suggest next steps to improve estimates. Economic analysis of dengue is mainly concerned with costs of illness, particularly in estimating total episodes of symptomatic dengue. However, national dengue disease reporting systems show a great diversity in design and implementation, hindering accurate global estimates of dengue episodes and country comparisons. A combination of immediate, short-, and long-term strategies could substantially improve estimates of disease and, consequently, of economic burden of dengue. Suggestions for immediate implementation include refining analysis of currently available data to adjust reported episodes and expanding data collection in empirical studies, such as documenting the number of ambulatory visits before and after hospitalization and including breakdowns by age. Short-term recommendations include merging multiple data sources, such as cohort and surveillance data to evaluate the accuracy of reporting rates (by health sector, treatment, severity, etc.), and using covariates to extrapolate dengue incidence to locations with no or limited reporting. Long-term efforts aim at strengthening capacity to document dengue transmission using serological methods to systematically analyze and relate to epidemiologic data. As promising tools

  7. Debt burden of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia at times of great depression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gnjatović Dragana

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available It is customary to look for the causes of widespread problems of public debt service at times of the Great Depression on the side of a sharp drop of foreign exchange earnings of the debtor country, in conditions of severe contraction of international trade and the introduction of a series of foreign trade restrictions. In the case of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, in addition to these causes, which were generated by the Great Depression, there were some specific reasons on the side of public expenditures that were not related to the crisis, which led the country to sovereign debt default in 1932. Analysing these reasons is the subject matter of this paper. The aim of this paper is to indicate, on the basis of relevant macroeconomic indicators and economic-historical facts, how much the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was indebted and why it was not possible to avoid the accumulation of public debt in the years of Great Depression.

  8. Won-Buddhism and a Great Turning in Civilization: The Role of Religion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paik Nak-chung

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Addressing the theme of a great turning in civilization, this essay focuses on the Korean religion Won-Buddhism with its founding motto, “With this Great Opening of matter, let there be a Great Opening of spirit.” Both its doctrine and practice arguably possess great potential. Unlike the traditional Buddhist view of enlightenment, Won-Buddhism’s “Great Opening of spirit” starts from a specific diagnosis of the current time as an age of “Great Opening of matter” and proposes a double project of at once adapting to and overcoming modernity. In this way, it carries on the tradition of Korea’s indigenous religious movements since the mid-nineteenth century, but by combining that strain with Buddhism as its core doctrine, it achieves a fuller global significance than its predecessors. The essay examines Roberto Unger’s The Religion of the Future for both parallels and divergences, sympathizing with Unger’s emphasis on a religious revolution, but finding his thought essentially confined within the limits of Western metaphysics. Martin Heidegger is brought in to elucidate this point, as is Karl Marx, for comparison and contrast with Won-Buddhism’s diagnosis of and response to modernity. In closing, the essay takes up two Won-Buddhist agendas that are also of global concern: gender equality and the “church and state” relation.

  9. Exposition concerning small windmills. Appendix to main report. Volume 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-12-01

    This appendix to the main report entitled ''Exposition Concerning Small Windmills'' includes background information on the report, profiles of the participating companies and of those visited in Denmark and abroad, questionnaires and interview schemes sent to the participating companies, surveys of producers of Danish and foreign producers of small windmills and an appendix to the economical calculations found within the report. (AB)

  10. The Global Economic Crisis and the Global Accumulation of Capital

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wojciech Błasiak

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available The article presents a thesis that the current global economic crisis is the Second Great Depression, after the First Great Depression of the 30s. This is a global crisis of capital accumulation, which is caused by insufficient global demand. The author analy - ses the theoretical output of John Maynard Keynes, Michał Kalecki, Paul Baran and Paul Sweezy. The post-war „Golden Age” of the capitalist economy ended in 1973 with a de - ep stag flation of the 70s and 80s. Capitals searching for profitable investment, started to be invested in financial speculation, growing since the 80s. This speculation was enabled on a global scale by the Washington Consensus in the 90s. The explosion of financializa - tion of the global economy began. The author presents the analyses of Paul Sweezy and Harry Magdoff, who argued that this was financialization of global accumulation of ca - pital in a form of world financial speculation. This process was completed by the finan - cial crash in 2008, which was the implosion of global speculative balloons. Economics and global economic policy faced challenges of creating new world economic order.

  11. Regional resilience across Europe : on urbanization and the initial impact of the Great Recession

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brakman, S.; van Marrewijk, J.G.M.; Partridge, Mark

    2015-01-01

    Using a novel data set for 207 European regions from 22 different countries, we analyse the relevance of urbanisation for the short-term resilience to a major shock. We take the Great Recession, the economic and financial crisis that started in 2008, as our shock and analyse how the European NUTS 2

  12. Neurocognitive Mechanisms Underlying Value-Based Decision-Making: From Core Values to Economic Value

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tobias eBrosch

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Value plays a central role in practically every aspect of human life that requires a decision: whether we choose between different consumer goods, whether we decide which person we marry or which political candidate gets our vote, we choose the option that has more value to us. Over the last decade, neuroeconomic research has mapped the neural substrates of economic value, revealing that activation in brain regions such as ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC, ventral striatum or posterior cingulate cortex reflects how much an individual values an option and which of several options he/she will choose. However, while great progress has been made exploring the mechanisms underlying concrete decisions, neuroeconomic research has been less concerned with the questions of why people value what they value, and why different people value different things. Social psychologists and sociologists have long been interested in core values, motivational constructs that are intrinsically linked to the self-schema and are used to guide actions and decisions across different situations and different time points. Core value may thus be an important determinant of individual differences in economic value computation and decision-making. Based on a review of recent neuroimaging studies investigating the neural representation of core values and their interactions with neural systems representing economic value, we outline a common framework that integrates the core value concept and neuroeconomic research on value-based decision-making.

  13. How great is Latvia's success story? The economic, social and political consequences of the recent financial crisis in Latvia

    OpenAIRE

    Austers, Aldis

    2014-01-01

    The current state of Latvia can be best described in medical terms: the patient is pale, but alive. The financial woes have been successfully resolved, but economic, social and political challenges remain. The crisis is continuing to affect the fabric of social and political life in Latvia. This paper looks at the economic, social and political consequences of the recent financial crisis and the ensuing economic collapse in Latvia and suggests some remedial actions.

  14. From Meritocracy to Aristocracy: Towards a "Just" Society for the "Great Man"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saito, Naoko

    2011-01-01

    In the practice of education and educational reforms today "meritocracy" is a prevalent mode of thinking and discourse. Behind political and economic debates over the just distribution of education benefits, other kinds of philosophical issues, concerning the question of democracy, await to be addressed. As a means of evoking a language more…

  15. Great Apes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sleeman, Jonathan M.; Cerveny, Shannon

    2014-01-01

    Anesthesia of great apes is often necessary to conduct diagnostic analysis, provide therapeutics, facilitate surgical procedures, and enable transport and translocation for conservation purposes. Due to the stress of remote delivery injection of anesthetic agents, recent studies have focused on oral delivery and/or transmucosal absorption of preanesthetic and anesthetic agents. Maintenance of the airway and provision of oxygen is an important aspect of anesthesia in great ape species. The provision of analgesia is an important aspect of the anesthesia protocol for any procedure involving painful stimuli. Opioids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are often administered alone, or in combination to provide multi-modal analgesia. There is increasing conservation management of in situ great ape populations, which has resulted in the development of field anesthesia techniques for free-living great apes for the purposes of translocation, reintroduction into the wild, and clinical interventions.

  16. Offshore Wind Jobs and Economic Development Impact: Four Regional Scenarios (Presentation)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tegen, S.

    2014-11-01

    NREL's Jobs and Economic Development Impact (JEDI) Model for Offshore Wind, is a computer tool for studying the economic impacts of fixed-bottom offshore wind projects in the United States. This presentation provides the results of an analysis of four offshore wind development scenarios in the Southeast Atlantic, Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico regions.

  17. Environmental Economics And Policy: Course Evaluation Survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petr Šauer

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available The main objective of this paper is to outline the educational aspects of environmental economics referring to an example of a course taught at The University of Economics, Prague. A quantitative survey among students was conducted to describe their perceptions of the environmental topics and the diverse components of the course. This learners’ perspective is compared with students’ examination results and their level of activity in seminars. One of the main questions asked in this text is: do students interested in economic policy and regional economics consider the environmental orientation of the course important? And if yes what aspects of the course do they value, what benefits do they get from the course, what are their learning strategies and what role does this play with regards to students’ concern for environmental issues? Probably the most important finding of the research is the students’ advocacy of environmental economics as a beneficial part of curriculum both by those clustered as ‘environmentalists’ and ‘non-environmentalists’ (or even ‘anti-environmentalists’. Students appreciate having a chance to participate actively in the course. A well balanced proportion of lectures and seminars with enough space for deep discussion seem to be crucial for retaining students’ interest. The data doesn’t equip us with sufficient information to construct regression models with reasonable predictive power concerning exam results. A challenge for further research is to work with a better informed analysis of students’ learning strategies.

  18. Health economics of screening for hypertension in Vietnam

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nguyen, Thi Phuong Lan

    2016-01-01

    The studies aims to identify the burden of a cardiovascular diseases and solutions to manage it in Vietnam, notably hypertension screening. The studies confirmed that hypertension creates a great burden in Vietnam in terms of cardiovascular diseases, from economic, clinical and social perspectives.

  19. Happiness economics: a new road to measuring and comparing happiness

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Praag, B.M.S.; Ferrer-i-Carbonell, A.

    2011-01-01

    This paper deals with the concept of happiness in economics. Of late there has come into life a branch of happiness economics and it is this field that will be our concern. Actually, not only economists are interested in quantifications of happiness but also researchers in other disciplines. Notably

  20. Models of the Economic Growth and their Relevance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicolae MOROIANU

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Until few years ago, the economic growth was something perfect normal, part of an era marked by the transformation speed. Normality itself has been transformed and we currently are influenced by other rules, unknown yet, which should answer the question: “How do we return to the economic growth?” The economic growth and the models aiming to solve this problem concern the economic history even since its beginnings. In this paper we would like to find out what is the relevance that the well-known macroeconomic models still have and which might be their applicability level in a framework created by a black swan event type.

  1. Biosecurity and globalising economic spaces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charles Mather

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This chapter is concerned with the global regulation of animal health. Our case is a recent outbreak of avian influenza in South Africa’s ostrich industry. The analysis confirms an important theme in the emerging social sciences literature on biosecurity, i.e. the paradox of control methods that are rigid and inflexible, and diseases that are indeterminate. We also examine a second approach to the outbreak that relied on local experience and knowledge. Our chapter explores the complex ways in which globalizing economic spaces are integrated into new global regulatory regimes, with important implications for economic, social and geographical processes.

  2. The spaces of urban economic geographies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kalsø Hansen, Høgni; Winther, Lars

    2007-01-01

    The paper focuses on the transformation of the industrial structure and the location dynamics on the edge of the metropolitan region of Copenhagen with the aim of explaining the rise of new spaces in the urban economic geography. The main concern of the paper is the role the transformation...... of Copenhagen. The recent changes in the economic geographies of the outer city of Copenhagen are used as a launch pad for discussing the theoretical and analytical challenges in understanding the industrial change in new urban forms....

  3. 27 Business Recovery Strategies in the Economic Crisis of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    User

    2012-01-24

    Jan 24, 2012 ... great depression 1929 that lasted for 43 months, the Asian economic collapse .... understand current situation and what the key drivers of performance have been and will be .... Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

  4. CULTURAL ISSUES IN ECONOMICS

    OpenAIRE

    Maciej Meyer

    2012-01-01

    This article has been written with the purpose of attracting attention to the cultural issues, or rather lack of them, in economics. This topic has not been taken frequently into theoretical considerations due to some difficulties, although its practical implications are of great importance. The meaning of institutions which are a part of cultures has been given more coverage in the literature. The following hypothesis is proposed: culture is an important but underestimated component of the e...

  5. LAG, GAPS AND CONVERGENCES – FIVE CENTURIES OF EUROPEAN ECONOMIC EXPERIENCES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dr. Bogdan MURGESCU

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper entails the experience of different European countries in what concerns economic gaps storage, “economic lag” and “catching-up the lag time”, confronting economic theories regarding economic growth determinants. Taking into consideration the cases of Denmark and Ireland, which have managed, in different historical periods, to surpass the peripheral condition and relative economic under- development, and to be part of the most developed and prosper group countries; the study evaluates the chances of other countries to realize similar progresses.

  6. Contaminants of emerging concern in the Great Lakes Basin: A report on sediment, water, and fish tissue chemistry collected in 2010-2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choy, Steven J.; Annis, Mandy L.; Banda, JoAnn; Bowman, Sarah R.; Brigham, Mark E.; Elliott, Sarah M.; Gefell, Daniel J.; Jankowski, Mark D.; Jorgenson, Zachary G.; Lee, Kathy E.; Moore, Jeremy N.; Tucker, William A.

    2017-01-01

    Despite being detected at low levels in surface waters and sediments across the United States, contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in the Great Lakes Basin are not well characterized in terms of spatial and temporal occurrence. Additionally, although the detrimental effects of exposure to CECs on fish and wildlife have been documented for many CECs in laboratory studies, we do not adequately understand the implications of the presence of CECs in the environment. Based on limited studies using current environmentally relevant concentrations of chemicals, however, risks to fish and wildlife are evident. As a result, there is an increasing urgency to address data gaps that are vital to resource management decisions. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey, is leading a Great Lakes Basin-wide evaluation of CECs (CEC Project) with the objectives to (a) characterize the spatial and temporal distribution of CECs; (b) evaluate risks to fish and wildlife resources; and (c) develop tools to aid resource managers in detecting, averting, or minimizing the ecological consequences to fish and wildlife that are exposed to CECs. This report addresses objective (a) of the CEC Project, summarizing sediment and water chemistry data collected from 2010 to 2012 and fish liver tissue chemistry data collected in 2012; characterizes the sampling locations with respect to potential sources of CECs in the landscape; and provides an initial interpretation of the variation in CEC concentrations relative to the identified sources. Data collected during the first three years of our study, which included 12 sampling locations and analysis of 134 chemicals, indicate that contaminants were more frequently detected in sediment compared to water. Chemicals classified as alkyphenols, flavors/ fragrances, hormones, PAHs, and sterols had higher average detection frequencies in sediment compared to water, while the opposite was observed for pesticides

  7. THE PECULIARITIES OF THE ACCOUNTING OF CONSUMPTIONS CONCERNING GAPS REMOVAL IN VINEYARDS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatiana ŞEVCIUC

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Today’s methodology of the accounting of the economic operations concerning gaps removal in vineyards is imperfect; it generates numerous uncertainties and it doesn’t take into account some factors that directly influence gaps removal technology. In our opinion, the rationality of gaps removal in fruitful vineyards may be argued from both economic and biological points. Some authors suggest solving this problem by classifying current accounts that is doubtful as these suggestions don’t have a sound accounting basis and they neglect the fundamental principles of the accounting. That is why, this article suggests the economic way of solving this problem by determining the time of consumptions recovery when planting, caring and growing the cuttings till they give fruit.

  8. Affluence and objective environmental conditions: Evidence of differences in environmental concern in metropolitan Brazil

    OpenAIRE

    Nawrotzki, Raphael J.; Guedes, Gilvan; do Carmo, Roberto Luiz

    2014-01-01

    In an age of climate change, researchers need to form a deepened understanding of the determinants of environmental concern, particularly in countries of emerging economies. This paper provides a region-specific investigation of the impact of socio-economic status (SES) and objective environmental conditions on environmental concern in urban Brazil. We make use of data that were collected from personal interviews of individuals living in the metropolitan areas of Baixada Santista and Campinas...

  9. Economic evaluation of coalbed methane production in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luo Dongkun; Dai Youjin

    2009-01-01

    Roaring natural gas demand, energy security and environment protection concerns coupled with stringent emission reduction requirement have made China's abundant coalbed methane (CBM) resource an increasingly valuable energy source. However, not all of China's CBM resource is economic to develop under current technological condition and economic situation. In order to locate the CBM resource with economic viability to develop in China, economic evaluation of CBM production is conducted by applying net present value (NPV) method. The results indicate that more than half of CBM resource in China is economic to develop. It shows that CBM price, production rate and operating costs are the three major factors with most impact on the economic viability of the CBM development in target areas in China. The result also demonstrates that the economic limit production is roughly 1200 cubic meters per day. These economic evaluation results provide important information for both CBM companies and China government.

  10. Mathematical Optimiation in Economics

    CERN Document Server

    De Finetti, Bruno

    2011-01-01

    Preface by B. de Finetti.- G.Th. Guilbaud: Les equilibres dans les modeles economiques.-H.W. Kuhn: Locational problems and mathematical programming.- M. Morishima: The multi-sectoral theory of economic growth.- B. Martos, J. Kornai: Experiments in Hungary with industry-wide and economy wide programming.- A. Prekopa: Probability distribution problems concerning stochastic programming problems.- R. Frisch: General principles and mathematical techniques of macroeconomic programming.

  11. Environmental Concerns, Environmental Policy and Green Investment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xuexian Gao

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Environmental regulators often use environmental policy to induce green investment by firms. However, if an environmental policy fails to exert a long-run effect on regulating the economic agents’ behavior, it may be more reasonable to think of the firm as the leader in the game, since the investment in green technology is usually a strategic decision. In this paper, we consider a three-stage Stackelberg game to address the interaction between a profit-maximizing firm (Stackelberg leader facing emission-dependent demand, and the environmental regulator (Stackelberg follower. The firm decides on the green technology level in the first stage of the game based on its understanding of the regulator’s profits function, especially an environmental concern that is introduced as an exogenous variable. In the current research, we show that high levels of the regulator’s environmental concerns do not necessarily lead to the choice of green technology by the firm, and green investment level depends on the combined effects of the market and operational factors for a given level of the regulator’s environmental concerns. The result also shows that increasing environmental awareness amongst the consumers is an effective way to drive the firm’s green investment.

  12. Balancing Scientific Publication and National Security Concerns: Issues for Congress

    Science.gov (United States)

    2003-07-09

    10 Rick Weiss, “Polio-Causing Virus Created in N.Y. Lab: Made-From-Scratch Pathogen Prompts Concerns About Bioethics , Terrorism,” The Washington...Human Services or with the Department of Agriculture , depending on the nature of the select agent. Most universities generally reconcile their dual roles...economic, human, financial, industrial, agricultural , technological, and law enforcement information, as well as the privacy or confidentiality of

  13. European health inequality through the 'Great Recession': social policy matters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Wel, Kjetil A; Saltkjel, Therese; Chen, Wen-Hao; Dahl, Espen; Halvorsen, Knut

    2018-05-01

    This paper investigates the association between the Great Recession and educational inequalities in self-rated general health in 25 European countries. We investigate four different indicators related to economic recession: GDP; unemployment; austerity and a 'crisis' indicator signifying severe simultaneous drops in GDP and welfare generosity. We also assess the extent to which health inequality changes can be attributed to changes in the economic conditions and social capital in the European populations. The paper uses data from the European Social Survey (2002-2014). The analyses include both cross-sectional and lagged associations using multilevel linear regression models with country fixed effects. This approach allows us to identify health inequality changes net of all time-invariant differences between countries. GDP drops and increasing unemployment were associated with decreasing health inequalities. Austerity, however, was related to increasing health inequalities, an association that grew stronger with time. The strongest increase in health inequality was found for the more robust 'crisis' indicator. Changes in trust, social relationships and in the experience of economic hardship of the populations accounted for much of the increase in health inequality. The paper concludes that social policy has an important role in the development of health inequalities, particularly during times of economic crisis. © 2018 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Foundation for SHIL.

  14. Effects of the great recession on drugs consumption in Spain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin Bassols, Nicolau; Vall Castelló, Judit

    2016-09-01

    This paper presents evidence on how the consumption of legal and illegal drugs has changed in response to the Great Recession in Spain. We use a large scale survey from 2005 to 2011 to analyze the association between changes in local economic conditions and drug consumption among individuals aged 15-64. Although Spain was one of the countries hardest hit by the economic downturn, the crisis was unevenly felt across the country. Therefore, we exploit this difference in unemployment rates across provinces to identify the effects of business cycle variations on the consumption of legal and illegal drugs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to find a relation between the deterioration of local economic conditions and a strong increase in the consumption of marihuana and cocaine. We also report a decrease in alcohol consumption but a significant escalation in abusive smoking behavior (smoking every day). We believe that these findings are important not only for the potential negative implications at the individual level but also for the costs to society as a whole. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Trade Policies and the Changing Patterns of Protectionism during the Global Financial and Economic Crisis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agnes Ghibuțiu

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The Great Recession of 2008–09 provided a fertile ground for protectionist pressures to increase. It caused a negative shock to the global economy that is comparable with the Great Depression of the 1930s. International trade suffered a historical collapse in 2009, but trade flows quickly rebounded thereafter. And unlike the Great Depression of the 1930s, the recent global economic contraction did not trigger a massive wave of protectionism as expected. Despite important adjustments in many countries’ trade policies during the crisis and, hence, a quite notable increase in the incidence of protectionist measures, there is a widely shared belief that crisis related protectionism has been kept under control, being rather modest and limited compared with both the negative effects of the crisis and the initial concerns. A large agreement emerged also among analysts on the important role of WTO’s multilateral rules and disciplines in preventing exacerbation of economic nationalism and protectionism. The views on intensity, dynamics and potential impact of current contemporary protectionism continue, however, to diverge as they reflect in part the significant differences between the results of the different monitoring exercises, carried out particularly by the WTO and Global Trade Alert. But beyond these differences, the latest monitoring reports contain alarming signs of escalating protectionism over the post-crisis years due to the growing difficulties in the world economy. This paper takes a look at the main trends in global protectionism during and after the crisis and some of its potential implications. In doing so, the paper starts by contrasting protectionism that accompanied the Great Depression of the 1930s with the present-day protectionist phenomenon in order to briefly outline the peculiarities of the latter. Then it addresses the main factors contributing to staving off trade protectionism during the recent crisis. Relying on the

  16. Morality, Normativity, and Economic Development in Slovakia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Karjanen

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available This article examines debates over local economic development policies and practices in contemporary Slovakia, particularly regarding property and land development. Debates about economic development often occur in relation to economic outcomes, driven by quantitative data and empirical assessments provided by city officials or consultants. In this article, I find that such debates are more likely to be driven by normative concerns, including moral outcomes. I develop a theoretical framework to understand why policy debates occur not in purely objective terms, but the more subjective normative and moral frameworks. The analysis provides greater insight into political debates and policymaking in the postsocialist context.

  17. Economic stress and the great recession in Ireland: polarization, individualization or 'middle class squeeze'?

    OpenAIRE

    Maitre, Bertrand; Russell, Helen; Whelan, Christopher T.

    2014-01-01

    Following an unprecedented boom that attracted the label 'Celtic Tiger', since 2008 Ireland has experienced the most severe economic and labour market crisis since the foundation of the State. The rapid deterioration in the labour market, alongside stringent austerity measures, had a widespread impact. Considerable debate persists as to where the heaviest burden has fallen. Conventional measures of income poverty and inequality have a limited capacity to capture the impact of the recession. T...

  18. Health economic evaluation in lumbar spinal fusion: a systematic literature review anno 2005

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Soegaard, Rikke; Christensen, Finn B

    2006-01-01

    in clinical practice are present, economic evaluation is needed in order to facilitate the decision-makers' budget allocations. NHS Economic Evaluation Database, MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Library were searched. Two independent reviewers (one clinical content expert and one economic content expert) applied...... that the clinical effects are statistically synonymous, it does not support the use of high-cost techniques. There is a great potential for improvement of methodological quality in economic evaluations of lumbar spinal fusion and further research is imperative....

  19. Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Great Lakes Mussel Watch(2009-2014)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Following the inception of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) to address the significant environmental issues plaguing the Great Lakes region, the...

  20. Child Health and the 1988-92 Economic Crisis in Peru

    OpenAIRE

    Paxson, Christina; Schady, Norbert

    2004-01-01

    The effect of economic crises on child health is a topic of great policy importance. The authors use data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) to analyze the impact of the profound 1988-92 economic crisis in Peru on infant mortality and anthropometrics. They show that there was an increase in the infant mortality rate of about 2.5 percentage points for children born in late 1989 ...

  1. Socio-economic problems of returning migrants' reintegration in Georgia

    OpenAIRE

    TUKHASHVILI, Mirian

    2013-01-01

    CARIM-East: Creating an Observatory of Migration East of Europe Version in other language: Migration Policy Centre CARIM-East Research Report 2013/11 The present work of research reveals that despite an economic revival, the labour market infrastructure in Georgia and the cost of labour force do not contribute to any reduction in labour emigration. Therefore, great emphasis is placed on the facilitation of return migration back to the homeland and the socio-economic efficiency of ...

  2. Physical behavior of PCBs in the Great Lakes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McKay, D.; Eisenreich, S.J.; Patterson, S.; Simmons, M.S.

    1983-01-01

    This book presents a review of all aspects of the physical behavior of one contaminant (PCBs) in one aquatic environment (Great Lakes). This book not only treats this topic extensively, but also serves as a model for treatment of other contaminants in other aquatic environments. This book focuses on the physical rather than biological aspects of PCBs. This focus does not imply a lack of concern for the biosphere or for the effects or toxicology of PCBs; instead, it represents an attempt to tackle a smaller problem of manageable proportions. The environmental fate of PCBs is largely controlled by physical processes, with biodegradation of lower chlorine congeners as the outstanding exception

  3. Has Economics become an Elite Subject for Elite UK Universities?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnston, James; Reeves, Alan; Talbot, Steven

    2014-01-01

    The decline in the number of UK universities offering undergraduate degree programmes in subjects such as sciences, mathematics, modern languages and humanities has been well documented and is now of real concern. It appears that economics may be going through a decline in new (post-1992) UK universities with many economics programmes having been…

  4. Economics of Internet of Things (IoT): An Information Market Approach

    OpenAIRE

    Niyato, D.; Lu, X.; Wang, P.; Kim, D. I.; Han, Z.

    2015-01-01

    Internet of things (IoT) has been proposed to be a new paradigm of connecting devices and providing services to various applications, e.g., transportation, energy, smart city, and healthcare. In this paper, we focus on an important issue, i.e., economics of IoT, that can have a great impact to the success of IoT applications. In particular, we adopt and present the information economics approach with its applications in IoT. We first review existing economic models developed for IoT services....

  5. Snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina) as bioindicators in Canadian areas of concern in the Great Lakes Basin. II. Changes in hatching success and hatchling deformities in relation to persistent organic pollutants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Solla, S R; Fernie, K J; Ashpole, S

    2008-06-01

    Hatching success and deformities in snapping turtle hatchlings (Chelydra serpentina) were evaluated using eggs collected from 14 sites in the Canadian lower Great Lakes, including Areas of Concern (AOC), between 2001 and 2004. Eggs were analyzed for PCBs, PBDEs, and pesticides. Between 2002 and 2004, hatchling deformity rates were highest in two AOCs (18.3-28.3%) compared to the reference sites (5.3-11.3%). Hatching success was poorest in three AOCs (71.3-73.1%) compared to the reference sites (86.0-92.7%). Hatching success and deformity rates were generally poorer in 2001 compared to 2002-2004, irrespective of the study location and could be due to egg handling stress in 2001. Hatching success and deformities were generally worst from the Wheatley Harbour, St. Lawrence River (Cornwall), Detroit River, and Hamilton Harbour AOCs. Associations between contaminant burdens with embryonic development were sufficiently poor that the biological relevance is questionable. Stressors not measured may have contributed to development abnormalities.

  6. West nile virus anti-body surveillance in three Sierra Nevada raptors of conservation concern

    Science.gov (United States)

    J.M. Hull; J.J. Keane; L.A. Tell; H.B. Ernest

    2010-01-01

    West Nile virus (WNV) infection has caused high levels of mortality in North American hawks and owls. To investigate the extent of infection among raptors of conservation concern in the Sierra Nevada, we tested 62 Northern Goshawks (Accipiter gentilis), 209 Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis), and 22 Great Gray Owls (...

  7. Multirole cargo aircraft options and configurations. [economic analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conner, D. W.; Vaughan, J. C., III

    1979-01-01

    A future requirements and advanced market evaluation study indicates derivatives of current wide-body aircraft, using 1980 advanced technology, would be economically attractive through 2008, but new dedicated airfreighters incorporating 1990 technology, would offer little or no economic incentive. They would be economically attractive for all payload sizes, however, if RD and T costs could be shared in a joint civil/military arrangement. For the 1994-2008 cargo market, option studies indicate Mach 0.7 propfans would be economically attractive in trip cost, aircraft price and airline ROI. Spanloaders would have an even lower price and higher ROI but would have a relatively high trip cost because of aerodynamic inefficiencies. Dedicated airfreighters using propfans at Mach 0.8 cruise, laminar flow control, or cryofuels, would not provide any great economic benefits. Air cushion landing gear configurations are identified as an option for avoiding runway constraints on airport requirements and/or operational constraints are noted.

  8. Return transport of processed radioactive waste from France and Great Britain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2010-11-01

    The report on returning transport and interim storage of processed radioactive waste from France and Great Britain in vitrified block containers covers the following issues: German contracts with radioactive waste processing plants concerning the return of processed waste to Germany; optimized radioactive waste processing using vitrified block containers; the transport casks as basic safety with respect to radiation protection; interim storage of processes high-level waste by GNS in Gorleben; licensing, inspections and declarations; quality assurance and control.

  9. Evaluating transfer capability of economic-driven power markets

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Xu, Zhao

    2007-01-01

    in the present economic-driven electricity markets. A mathematical model of a multi-objective optimization (MOOP) technique has been adopted and presented here for transfer capability studies; which can be helpful for power system planning and operation procedures. The newly-developed algorithm is being tested......The on-going restructuring of electric power utilities poses great challenges for power system engineers to plan and operate power systems as economical and reliable as possible. This paper discusses an important issue, which has been usually neglected, when quantifying active power transfer levels...

  10. Economic modeling using evolutionary algorithms : the effect of binary encoding of strategies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Waltman, L.R.; Eck, van N.J.; Dekker, Rommert; Kaymak, U.

    2011-01-01

    We are concerned with evolutionary algorithms that are employed for economic modeling purposes. We focus in particular on evolutionary algorithms that use a binary encoding of strategies. These algorithms, commonly referred to as genetic algorithms, are popular in agent-based computational economics

  11. System Prerequisites for Economic Recovery of Russia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergei Semenovich Gubanov

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available In the latest issue of the Journal we informed our readers about the 7th International Conference “Strategy and Tactics of Socio-Economic Reforms” that was held in December 2015 in Vologda. The event was dedicated to the 25th anniversary of ISEDT RAS. Renowned Russian scientists, chief editors of social science publications and representatives of regional and local authorities delivered their reports at the plenary sessions of the conference. The report delivered by Sergei Gubanov, Doctor of Economics, Professor, Chief Editor of the journal “Economist”, was considered to be of great interest by the conference participants. Here we outline the main provisions of the report* touching upon the key issues that would help resolve economic and social problems that Russia is facing at the current stage of its development

  12. The Relational Concurrence of Global Warming and Economic ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    global warming and economic development focusing on the danger it inheres in ... that both developing and developed countries should sink their differences, .... with time. Other fossils exist but are still under investigation. These fossil fuels contribute greatly to human existence in the areas of. Electricity generation and ...

  13. The socio-economic impact of the Tsitsikamma National Park / S. Oberholzer.

    OpenAIRE

    Oberholzer, Susan

    2010-01-01

    The primary objective of this study was to determine the socio-economic impact of the Tsitsikamma National Park. Secondly, to determine the relationship between the community's level of interest in the Tsitsikamma National Park (TNP) and their perceptions concerning the environmental, economic and social impacts of the TNP. By conducting a literature study, the first objective was achieved. The following tourism impacts were identified: environmental, economic and social. These...

  14. Tectonic setting of the Great Dyke, Chembadzi, Chewore and Atchiza layered complexes in Zimbabwe and Mozambique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Master, S.

    1990-01-01

    The Great Dyke of Zimbabwe is one of the largest ultramafic-mafic layered igneous complexexs in the world. Because of the economic importance of large layered intrusions like the Great Dyke, their tectonic setting is of great interest. The Chembadzi complex is a 14 km long, dyke-like layered intrusion up to 800m wide. The Chewore complex, which was thought to have the structure of an irregular lopolith, outcrops over an area of about 200 km in horst blocks in the lower Zambezi Valley in northern Zimbabwe. The Atchiza complex is situated just north of the Cahora Bassa lake and the Zambezi River valley in Mozambique. In considering the tectonic setting of the Great Dyke and its correlatives, most attention has been focussed on events in the Limpopo Mobile Belt, which were responsible for producing the fractures in the Zimbabwe craton that is occupied by the intrusives. 39 refs

  15. Overburndened and Underfunded: California Public Schools Amidst the Great Recession

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rhoda Freelon

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Since 2008, many nations, including the United States, have struggled with the effects of a global recession. The state of California has been particularly impacted by the Great Recession. Unemployment rates in California are among the highest in the United States, and a weak fiscal environment has forced deep cutbacks to a variety of state services. This study uses California as a case to explore the effects of economic crisis on public schools and the students they serve. The study draws on two years of survey and interview data with a representative sample of public school principals across California. The data show that, during the Great Recession, students have experienced growing social welfare needs that often shape their well-being and their performance in schools. We also find that the capacity of public schools to meet these needs and provide quality education has been eroded by budget cuts. This study finds that schools primarily serving low-income families have been hardest hit during the recession, in part because they cannot raise private dollars to fill the gap left by public sector cuts. The Great Recession thus has undermined educational quality while producing widening educational inequality in California.

  16. Teaching Economic Growth Theory with Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elmslie, Bruce T.; Tebaldi, Edinaldo

    2010-01-01

    Many instructors in subjects such as economics are frequently concerned with how to teach technical material to undergraduate students with limited mathematical backgrounds. One method that has proven successful for the authors is to connect theoretically sophisticated material with actual data. This enables students to see how the theory relates…

  17. Essays on health and labor economics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hullegie, P.G.J.

    2012-01-01

    This thesis deals with a range of topics in health and labor economics. The first part examines the validity of a method that aims at improving the interpersonal comparability of self-reports in surveys. The second part is concerned with the question how the demand for medical care is related to

  18. Society's nature: Ecological economics and the combined challenge of environment and distribution

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Røpke, Inge

    2010-01-01

    The paper introduces the emerging field of ecological economics and evaluates its potential for addressing some of the concerns within development studies. It takes as its point of departure the study of the relationship between nature and society that emerged in the wake of the environmental dis......, in particular the combination of the environmental and distributional issues and the challenges therein. Finally, the paper reflects on the persuasive potential of ecological economics in relation to politics.......The paper introduces the emerging field of ecological economics and evaluates its potential for addressing some of the concerns within development studies. It takes as its point of departure the study of the relationship between nature and society that emerged in the wake of the environmental...

  19. Youth and the Great Recession: Are values, achievement orientation and outlook to the future affected?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoon, Ingrid; Mortimer, Jeylan

    2017-02-01

    This special section brings together leading experts in psychology and sociology to examine the consequences of the Great Recession for young people's values, achievement orientation, and outlook to the future. Evidence from Europe and the United States suggests that the impact of the recession varies for distinct outcomes and by age, the latter pointing to potential sensitive periods for interventions. Although the direct effects of the recession are not strong, they accelerate pre-existing trends towards more prolonged and precarious transitions to independence, and are likely to bring with them long-term scarring with respect to health and well-being. While feelings of self-confidence and self-worth have eroded, young people continue to subscribe to the "American Dream," the belief that in principle it is possible to make it - even if limitations to one's own capabilities are recognised. Trust in institutions has declined, but support and concern for others have increased, suggesting that in times of economic hardship and uncertainty social relationships become more salient. Young people's response to the recession appears to be less of a "me-first" reaction than "let's help each other": a form of "collective agency" to counter the inadequacy of social safety nets. © 2016 International Union of Psychological Science.

  20. Going Concern eller Concerned Going

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Haraszuk, Anni; Hartmann, Stig

    2012-01-01

    Højsæsonen for revision af årsrapporter 2011 er på trapperne; men hvordan håndterer revisorer egentlig going concern i praksis - i en tid præget af stejle op- og nedture?......Højsæsonen for revision af årsrapporter 2011 er på trapperne; men hvordan håndterer revisorer egentlig going concern i praksis - i en tid præget af stejle op- og nedture?...

  1. Priority research and management issues for the imperiled Great Basin of the western United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeanne C. Chambers; Michael J. Wisdom

    2009-01-01

    Like many arid and semiarid regions, the Great Basin of the western United States is undergoing major ecological, social, and economic changes that are having widespread detrimental effects on the structure, composition, and function of native ecosystems. The causes of change are highly interactive and include urban, suburban, and exurban growth, past and present land...

  2. Cultura y economía

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kari Polanyi Levitt

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Se hace una introducción teórica e intelectual de Karl Polanyi, que destaca la crítica al discurso económico dominante, el cual tiene una fuerte influencia en la economía real como en la situación de la sociedad en su conjunto. Ponencia presentada en la Conferencia Anual de la Asociación Americana de Sociología en San Francisco, Agosto de 2014. Es una versión actualizada del capítulo 7 del libro Kari Polanyi Levitt (2013 “From The Great Transformation to the Great Financialization. On Karl Polanyi and Other Essays”, Fernwood Publishing, Nova Scotia, Canada, 2013, 286 páginas. Traducción del inglés al castellano para Ola Financiera de Eugenia Correa y Wesley Marshall.

  3. Bank Portfolio Structure and Economic Absorption Theory of Economic Development: A Theoretical Proposition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Uduak B. UBOM

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The focus of this article was on theoretical proposition of Bank Portfolio Structure and Economic Absorption Theory of economic development. Specifically, the work sought to establish the basis of bank portfolio rigidity and to identify the causes of economic absorption problems and their implications on economic development. The theoretical and conceptual research designs were used. Existing literatures were reviewed using archival retrieval approach, library search and internet exploration. The information obtained was judgmentally, logically and qualitatively analyzed. It was discovered among others, that, bank portfolio rigidity stems from regulatory policy defects using inconsistent monetary policy tools such as high liquidity ratio and cash ratio, etc. and compelling the banks to adhere to the regulatory requirement, as well as lack of adequate and quality stock of infrastructure and technology as the basic causes of economic absorption problems. Above all, low level of economic absorption has been discovered to hinder effective contributions of banks to economic development. Following from above, it was therefore recommended that regulatory tools used by Central Banks should be aligned with the development needs of the economy and the direction of governments. The monetary policy tools such as liquidity and cash ratios should also be moderated and stabilized for stable bank portfolio performance as well as aggressive improvement in the stock and quality of infrastructure and technology within an economy. With the new theory, it is expected that policy formulations and adjustments concerning bank portfolio structure and management would be designed with adequate flexibility and focus on long term loans and investments coupled with improved stock and quality of infrastructure to enhance economic development. This theory therefore provides another frontier of research on bank portfolio structure and contributions to economic development.

  4. Affluence and objective environmental conditions: Evidence of differences in environmental concern in metropolitan Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nawrotzki, Raphael J; Guedes, Gilvan; do Carmo, Roberto Luiz

    2014-04-01

    In an age of climate change, researchers need to form a deepened understanding of the determinants of environmental concern, particularly in countries of emerging economies. This paper provides a region-specific investigation of the impact of socio-economic status (SES) and objective environmental conditions on environmental concern in urban Brazil. We make use of data that were collected from personal interviews of individuals living in the metropolitan areas of Baixada Santista and Campinas, in the larger São Paulo area. Results from multilevel regression models indicate that wealthier households are more environmentally concerned, as suggested by affluence and post-materialist hypotheses. However, we also observe that increasing environmental concern correlates with a decline in objective environmental conditions. Interactions between objective environmental conditions and SES reveal some intriguing relationships: Among poorer individuals, a decline in environmental conditions increases environmental concern as suggested by the objective problems hypothesis, while for the wealthy, a decline in environmental conditions is associated with lower levels of environmental concern.

  5. Economic summary of woody biomass direct combustion and gasification alternatives

    Science.gov (United States)

    1981-08-01

    A base case analysis indicates that acceptable rates of return on investment are possible when utilizing wood as a commercial scale boiler fuel. Principal variables include the availability of cost competitive wood fuel over the term of the loan and overall installed cost for the system. In some cases the cost of coal at the point of end use will be comparable with wood. Hardware costs will determine system economics and applicable air quality standards, or lack thereof, will play an important role. The overall economics of using wood for fuel are extremely site specific. The additional 10 percent energy tax credit greatly enhances the economics of a wood fired system, although system economics are very attractive without this tax incentive. Cost of money does not seem to drastically affect overall system economics.

  6. Chaotic time series analysis in economics: Balance and perspectives

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Faggini, Marisa

    2014-01-01

    The aim of the paper is not to review the large body of work concerning nonlinear time series analysis in economics, about which much has been written, but rather to focus on the new techniques developed to detect chaotic behaviours in economic data. More specifically, our attention will be devoted to reviewing some of these techniques and their application to economic and financial data in order to understand why chaos theory, after a period of growing interest, appears now not to be such an interesting and promising research area

  7. Chaotic time series analysis in economics: Balance and perspectives

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Faggini, Marisa, E-mail: mfaggini@unisa.it [Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Statistiche, Università di Salerno, Fisciano 84084 (Italy)

    2014-12-15

    The aim of the paper is not to review the large body of work concerning nonlinear time series analysis in economics, about which much has been written, but rather to focus on the new techniques developed to detect chaotic behaviours in economic data. More specifically, our attention will be devoted to reviewing some of these techniques and their application to economic and financial data in order to understand why chaos theory, after a period of growing interest, appears now not to be such an interesting and promising research area.

  8. The deregulation of electricity and gas markets. The great economic challenges

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mirabel, Francois; Guerassimoff, Gilles

    2012-01-01

    As the process of deregulation of electricity and gas markets started in Europe ten years ago, this book aims at recalling and describing the consequences of this evolution, notably for companies which were in a monopoly situation for electricity and gas production, transport, retailing and selling, but also in terms of new entities to be created and of entities having to give up their specialty. The author first presents the economic characteristics of gas and electricity industries in terms of infrastructures and final services, scale, coordination and size of energy networks, of existence of strong externalities in networks, of commitment in public service missions. He describes the background and implementation of this deregulation. He analyses the strategies of companies and how energy markets are controlled: strategies to mitigate competition and to strengthen their market power, firm strategies and public policies, merging strategies, strategies of competition distortion. The last chapter addresses the various priority fields of deregulation: public service missions in a deregulated environment (issues of service continuity and of affordable prices), the environmental constraint in energy market organisation (limitation of CO 2 emissions, promotion of renewable energies, and reduction of energy consumption). In conclusion, the author discusses how to conciliate deregulation and sustainable development of energy

  9. Ethical Concerns About Human Genetic Enhancement in the Malay Science Fiction Novels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isa, Noor Munirah; Hj Safian Shuri, Muhammad Fakhruddin

    2018-02-01

    Advancements in science and technology have not only brought hope to humankind to produce disease-free offspring, but also offer possibilities to genetically enhance the next generation's traits and capacities. Human genetic enhancement, however, raises complex ethical questions, such as to what extent should it be allowed? It has been a great challenge for humankind to develop robust ethical guidelines for human genetic enhancement that address both public concerns and needs. We believe that research about public concerns is necessary prior to developing such guidelines, yet the issues have not been thoroughly investigated in many countries, including Malaysia. Since the novel often functions as a medium for the public to express their concerns, this paper explores ethical concerns about human genetic enhancement expressed in four Malay science fiction novels namely Klon, Leksikon Ledang, Transgenesis Bisikan Rimba and Transgenik Sifar. Religion has a strong influence on the worldview of the Malays therefore some concerns such as playing God are obviously religious. Association of the negative image of scientists as well as the private research companies with the research on human genetic enhancement reflects the authors' concerns about the main motivations for conducting such research and the extent to which such research will benefit society.

  10. National report of Great Britain. Risks and risk assessment according to British legislation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vieweg, K.

    1980-01-01

    Who has got the competence in Great Britain to decide about criteria to be applied and methods to be taken in the prevention of damage thus ensuring the required safety standards and definine the maximum acceptable risk to be taken due to the operation of industrial and other facilities. The answer is laid down in the legal regulations covering virtually all industrial and technical installations. The author discusses the skeleton regulations of the 'Health and Safety at Work Act 1974', which is to be considered as the basis of British industrial law. Giving numerous examples, the author explains the legal status and administrative practice concerning the wide range of conventional technical facilities. Furthermore, he describes legal status and administrative practice concerning nuclear facilities and aircraft. After discussing methods of environmental pollution control, especially air pollution, the author enters into the regulations governing planning procedures of great relevance in Britain's legal practice, and the administrative procedures, shown by the example of the Windscale Inquiry. Finally, the author describes methods of risk assessment in other fields of law and some possible approaches to use risk analyses in the framework of the legal system. (orig./HSCH) [de

  11. Economic evaluation of fast breeders

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vieider, G.

    1979-03-01

    In order to clarify discrepancies between different contributions to INFCE SG-5A concerning economic assessments of FBRs an independent evaluation is performed with assumptions typical for the current views in Europe and USA. As a result bounding cases are shown for the influence of the natural uranium price on the permitted FBR-capital cost premium for break-even with LWRs

  12. Oil and the geopolitics of Central Asia: A "new 'great game'"?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Sati, Saud M.

    The nineteenth century rivalry between the Russian Empire and Great Britain over Central Asia, known as the "great game," was triggered by the quest for power and dominance. This study revisits Sir Halford Mackinder's thesis, which viewed the "heartland," consisting of Russia and Central Asia, as being crucial for international politics. It also discusses the influence of Mackinder's ideas on twentieth century geopolitical thinking. The study also examines the common assumption that the new "great game" in Central Asia is evolving around the exploitation of energy resources, and analyzes the consequences of this new factor for the geopolitical significance of the region. The landlocked nature of the Central Asian countries makes it necessary for them to rely on their neighbors for the export of oil and gas to international markets. Thus, the political and economic interests of Russia, Iran, and Turkey motivate them to compete with each other for export routes through their territories. This study also shows that the estimates of Central Asian proven oil reserves are characterized by considerable ambiguity. Estimates vary from seven to twenty-two billion barrels. Despite the fact that these proven oil reserves are limited compared to those of other regions, such as the Middle East, continued exploration is compatible with the Western strategy of energy resource diversification. Another primary aim of American involvement is to prevent the reintegration of Central Asia into the Russian federation and to block Chinese influence in Central Asia. This study reveals that realities in today's Central Asia are different from those of the nineteenth century. Central Asia now consists of independent countries; the competing powers have changed, with the exception of Russia; and oil has emerged as a new factor. However, the perpetual quest for power and dominance that marked the historical "great game" is still at work in the last decade of the twentieth century. Finally, the

  13. New players, new game? The impact of emerging economics on global goverance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jong, S. de; Korteweg, R.; Polchar, J.; Usanov, A.

    2012-01-01

    The growing economic and financial momentum of many larger emerging economies, including China, raises serious questions for Western decision makers. Of central strategic concern is whether (several of) the emerging economies are likely to coalesce into an economic or political bloc (be it formal or

  14. Nanotoxicity: Dimensional and Morphological Concerns

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohmmad Younus Wani

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Nanotechnology deals with the construction of new materials, devices, and different technological systems with a wide range of potential applications at the atomic and molecular level. Nanomaterials have attracted great attention for numerous applications in chemical, biological, and industrial world because of their fascinating physicochemical properties. Nanomaterials and nanodevices are being produced intentionally, unintentionally, and manufactured or engineered by different methods and released into the environment without any safety test. Nantoxicity has become the subject of concern in nanoscience and nanotechnology because of the increasing toxic effects of nanomaterials on the living organisms. Nanomaterials can move freely as compared to the large-sized particles; therefore, they can be more toxic than bulky materials. This review article delineates the toxic effects of different types of nanomaterials on the living organisms through different sources, like water, air, contact with skin, and the methods of determinations of these toxic effects.

  15. Budgeting For National Economic Consolidation And Progression ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The paper exemplifies genuine concern and empathy for the perceived unimpressive pace of growth and development of Nigeria\\'s national economy. The 2007 budget aptly directed at consolidation is crystallized as affording stakeholders the potent drive towards meaningful progression in national economic management ...

  16. Socio-economic factors and suicide rates in European Union countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferretti, Fabio; Coluccia, Anna

    2009-04-01

    Are socio-economic factors valid determinants of suicide? The modern sociological theory of suicide is based on Durkheim's studies. In addition to these fundamental social determinants, modern theorists have put more attention on economic factors. The purpose of the research is to determine the relationship between suicide rates and socio-economic factors, such as demography, economic development, education, healthcare systems, living conditions and labour market. All data were collected from a Eurostat publication and they concern 25 European Union countries. In order to test this relationship, a discriminant analysis was performed using an ordinal dependent variable and a set of independent variables concerning socio-economic factors. A dataset of 37 independent variables was used. We estimated a model with five variables: annual growth rates for industry, people working in S&T (% of total employment), at-risk-of-poverty rate, all accidents (standardized rates), and healthcare expenditures (% of GDP). Highly significant values of Wilk's Lambda assess a good discriminating power of the model. The accuracy too is very high: all cases are correctly classified by the model. Countries with high suicide rate levels are marked by high levels of at-risk-of-poverty rates, high annual growth rates for industry and low healthcare expenditures.

  17. Towards constructing Paul’s economic vision on poverty: The Jerusalem collection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Punt

    2000-08-01

    Full Text Available Set against a broader discussion of Paul’s economical perspectives, the emphasis of this article is on some of his directives concerning poverty. As much as the Pauline letters cannot be seen as a textbook for economic theory and practice, they offer no ready-made answers for addressing poverty, ancient or modern, either. It is in particular when addressing poverty – which he never did in abstract - that Paul’s considerable concern for the socio-economical situation of the communities he addressed becomes apparent. For Paul, evidently, poverty is not disconnected from other matters in the community such as righteousness and fellowship. These matters can easily be observed in Paul’s motivation of the collection for the churches in Jerusalem. Some implications of Paul’s treatment of poverty for theological thinking in this regard, are briefly explored.

  18. Some Features of the Functioning of the Northern Branch of the Great Silk Road

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anatoliy S. Skripkin

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The fact of existing economic relations in the north branch of The Great silk route is usually restored according to Claudius Ptolemey. There are some evidences to connect their activation with the establishment of political domination of Alans in the South-East of Europe. The analysis of archaeological material gives the information that not all findings of Chinese artifacts in Sarmatian burial complexes of the first century AD are the result of trade links and most of them have been brought here in the result of nomads’ migrations. The appearance of the Alans in the steppes of South-Eastern Europe refers to the first century AD. This tribal association was formed in Central Asia. Alans subdue the vast steppes from the Aral sea to the Don. In the early historical stage the Lower Don becomes their political center. In burials belonging to the Alanian nobility, a large number of items of Eastern origin were discovered. A great number of them were brought here upon the arrival of the new nomads. Economic relations in this area begin to improve after the establishment of political stability, which was reflected in the composition of Claudius Ptolemy.

  19. Rural Policy and the New Regional Economics: Implications for Rural America.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quigley, John M.

    This paper discusses gross economic and demographic trends in rural and urban America during the past 30 years, the kinds of competitive advantages enjoyed by urban and rural regions, and insights offered by the new regional economics concerning exploitation of those advantages. The importance of agriculture has declined in rural areas, while that…

  20. Economic characteristics of a smaller, simpler reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    LaBar, M.; Bowers, H.

    1988-01-01

    Reduced load growth and heightened concern with economic risk has led to an expressed utility preference for smaller capacity additions. The Modular High Temperature Reactor (MHTGR) plant has been developed as a small, simple plant that has limited financial risk and is economically competitive with comparatively sized coal plants. Competitive economics is achieved by the simplifications made possible in a small MHTGR, reduction in the quantity of nuclear grade construction and design standardization and certification. Assessments show the MHTGR plant to have an economic advantage over coal plants for plant sizes from 270 MWe to 1080 MWe. Financial risk is limited by small unit sizes and short lead times that allow incremental deployment. Evaluations show the MHTGR incremental deployment capability to reduce negative cash flows by almost a factor of 2 relative to that required by a single large nuclear plant

  1. A report that Fukushima residents are concerned about radiation from Land, Food and Radon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tamari, Yuki; Kuroda, Yujiro; Miyagawa, Ryu; Nawa, Kanabu; Sakumi, Akira; Sakata, Naoko; Mizushima, Nozomi; Sakura, Osamu; Iwamitsu, Yumi; Takemura, Kazuhisa; Nakagawa, Keiichi

    2016-01-01

    The Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster occurred on 11 March 2011, which caused the leakage of radioactive materials into the environment. In this study, we report public concerns about radiation in Fukushima and Tokyo almost one year after the nuclear disaster. We examined the public concerns by analyzing the data from 1022 participants, 555 in Fukushima and 467 in Tokyo. They were asked whether they were concerned about radiation from some of six different types of sources, which could be answered in a binary way, ‘yes’ or ‘no’. We found not only similarities, but also significant differences in the degrees of concerns between Fukushima residents and Tokyo ones. Fukushima residents more concerned about radiation from land, food and radon in larger rate than that of Tokyo ones, while Tokyo residents were concerned about radiation from medical care. Residents in neither location were concerned about radiation from space. Our results suggested that careful risk communication should be undertaken, adaptively organized depending on location and other factors, e.g. comprehension about radiation, presence of the experience of evacuation, and also age and gender of the people

  2. Addressing adherence to treatment: a longstanding concern. The patients’ perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahmoud Hadipour Dehshal

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Adherence to treatment is a great concern for patients who need long-life treatment. Thalassaemia is an inherited disease for whose treatment team-working is of a considerable importance. To logically face the problem of poor compliance patients, all members of the team ought to be aware of the causing factors and the ways to handle the problem. The factors which cause the lack of compliance among patients could be stratified into economic and structural facto. Furthermore, patient-related factors including ethnicity, gender, age, and regimen complexity such as dosing are also noteworthy. The supportive relationship between the health providers and the patients should be also established such as patients’ trust in their doctors. Last but not least, the pattern of health care delivery including the availability of health care requisites and operation of flexible hours and floating working hours. From the patients’ point of view, it is important to be aware of the significance of the adherence to treatment and the importance of providing prompt-routine reminders to patients to understand the consequence of incomplete treatment. Trained and motivated staffs play an effective role to enhance patients’ tendency to pursue the determined treatment. Health decision makers would be better to reinterpret the concept of health to “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. The patients’ role in self-management should not be ignored and “medicalization” has to be altered by the patient centered care.

  3. Substances of very high concern and the transition to a circular economy : An initial inventory

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wassenaar PNH; Janssen N; de Poorter LRM; Bodar CWM; VSP; MSP

    2017-01-01

    Reuse and recycling of products are key elements in a circular economy. This exploratory RIVM study shows that a great number of waste streams may contain various substances of very high concern (ZZS), which may hamper safe recycling options in the Netherlands. RIVM recommends an adequate risk

  4. How to Recover From the Great Recession: The Case of a Two-Sector Small Open Economy with Traded and Non-Traded Capital

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jong-Kyou Jeon

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Since the global financial crisis in 2008, the world economy has been suffering from the Great Recession characterized by high and persistent unemployment as well as drastic fall in asset prices. Real business cycle theory or new-Keynesian economics which has been the dominant paradigm in macroeconomics for the last four decades is unable to explain the high and persistent unemployment during the Great Recession. This implies that the economics of Keynes should be taken seriously again as a tool to explain the Great Recession. Farmer (2012 proposes a new way of interpreting the economics of Keynes by providing it with a solid micro-foundation based on labor markets with search. According to Farmer (2012, aggregate economic activity independently depends on the long-term self-fulfilling expectations about the stock prices. As a consequence, the government or the central bank should implement a policy that influences the public's confidence about the stock market. For an open economy like the Korean economy, it is not only stock price but also the price of asset such as house that matters more for the aggregate economic activity. Households in the Korean economy hold more than 70 percent of their wealth in the form of real estate asset, especially housing asset. This makes the public's confidence about the future prices of houses even more important in explaining the business cycles of the Korean economy. Policymakers should implement policies to improve the confidence of households about the housing market to recover from the recession caused by a fall in house prices. Little theoretical work has been done in explaining fluctuations in the aggregate economic activity from the point of house prices. This paper develops a small open economy model with traded and non-traded capital based on Farmer (2012 and shows that the aggregate economic activity also independently depends on the households’ self-fulfilling expectations about the future prices

  5. "On the Verge of a Renaissance": Arkansas Schools, Curricula, and Teachers during the Great Depression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Field, Sherry L.; Bauml, Michelle; Bellows, M. Elizabeth

    2014-01-01

    This article is the third in a larger study of schooling during the Great Depression that seeks to elucidate specific examples of elementary social studies teaching and learning in the South during this time, particularly in Arkansas. Responding to Christine Woyshner's (2009) concern that histories of social studies should look beyond national…

  6. Great Lakes Literacy Principles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fortner, Rosanne W.; Manzo, Lyndsey

    2011-03-01

    Lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan, Ontario, and Erie together form North America's Great Lakes, a region that contains 20% of the world's fresh surface water and is home to roughly one quarter of the U.S. population (Figure 1). Supporting a $4 billion sport fishing industry, plus $16 billion annually in boating, 1.5 million U.S. jobs, and $62 billion in annual wages directly, the Great Lakes form the backbone of a regional economy that is vital to the United States as a whole (see http://www.miseagrant.umich.edu/downloads/economy/11-708-Great-Lakes-Jobs.pdf). Yet the grandeur and importance of this freshwater resource are little understood, not only by people in the rest of the country but also by many in the region itself. To help address this lack of knowledge, the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE) Great Lakes, supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, developed literacy principles for the Great Lakes to serve as a guide for education of students and the public. These “Great Lakes Literacy Principles” represent an understanding of the Great Lakes' influences on society and society's influences on the Great Lakes.

  7. Coevolutionary ecological economics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kallis, Giorgos [ICREA Researcher, ICTA, Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, ETSE, QC/3095, 08193 Bellatera, Barcelona (Spain); Norgaard, Richard B. [Energy and Resources Group, University of California at Berkeley, 310 Barrows Hall, Berkeley, CA, 94720-3050 (United States)

    2010-02-15

    This paper maps a coevolutionary research agenda for ecological economics. At an epistemological level coevolution offers a powerful logic for transcending environmental and social determinisms and developing a cross-disciplinary approach in the study of socio-ecological systems. We identify four consistent stories emerging out of coevolutionary studies in ecological economics, concerning: environmental degradation and development failure in peripheral regions; the lock-in of unsustainable production-consumption patterns; the vicious cycle between human efforts to control undesirable micro-organisms and the evolution of these organisms; and the adaptive advantages of other-regarding, cooperative behaviors and institutions. We identify challenges in the conceptualization of coevolutionary relationships in relation to: the interaction between different hierarchical levels of evolution; the role of space and social power; uneven rates of change and crises. We conclude with the political implications of a coevolutionary perspective based on the premises of pragmatism. (author)

  8. Sociological explanations of economic growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marsh, R M

    1988-01-01

    Even if questions of how resources are distributed within and between societies are the main concern, it is necessary to continue to grapple with the issue of the causes of economic growth since economic growth and level of development continue to be among the most important causes of inequality, poverty, unemployment, and the quality of life. This paper's dependent variable is the economic growth rate of 55 less developed countries (LDCs) over 2 time periods. 1970-78 and 1965-84. The causal model consists of control variables--level of development and domestic investment in 1965--and a variety of independent variables drawn from major sociological theories of economic growth published during the last 3 decades. Multiple regression analysis shows that, net of the effects of the 2 control variables, the variables which have the strongest effect on economic growth are: 1) direct foreign investment, which has a negative effect, 2) the proportion of the population in military service, and 3) the primary school enrollment ratio, both of which have positive effects on economic growth. On the other hand, variables drawn from some theories receive no empirical support. The mass media of communications, ethnolinguistic heterogeneity, democracy and human rights, income inequality, and state-centric theory's key variable, state strength, all fail to show any significant impact on economic growth rates when the control variables and the significant independent variables are held constant. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.

  9. Comprehensive assessment of cancer patients' concerns and the association with quality of life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yokoo, Minori; Akechi, Tatsuo; Takayama, Tomoko; Karato, Atsuya; Kikuuchi, Yuki; Okamoto, Naoyuki; Katayama, Kayoko; Nakanotani, Takako; Ogawa, Asao

    2014-07-01

    Comprehensive assessment of perceived concerns can be used to guide supportive care appropriate to individual cancer patients. This study sought to determine the prevalence of cancer patients' concerns and the degree to which these concerns contribute to patients' quality of life. Participants were patients with all types of cancer, who completed an Internet survey questionnaire regarding comprehensive concerns about physical, psychological, psychosocial and economic aspects of having cancer. The questionnaire was based on the newly developed Comprehensive Concerns Assessment Tool and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire. We obtained complete data from 807 patients. Factors related to 'self-management' concerns were the most common (61.2%), followed by concerns about 'psychological symptoms' (48.5%), 'medical information' (46.2%), 'daily living' (29.9%), 'pain' (17.6%), 'constipation' (15.6%) and other 'physical symptoms' (15.2%). Multiple regression analysis revealed that all concerns except those about 'medical information' significantly contributed to quality of life. Cancer patients' concerns were shown to be multidimensional and significantly associated with quality of life. Thus, assessment of patients' concerns should be multidimensional in nature, and a multidisciplinary care team should help patients improve their quality of life. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  10. Time to reject the privileging of economic theory over empirical evidence? A reply to Lawson

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Juselius, Katarina

    2011-01-01

    The present financial and economic crisis has revealed a systemic failure of academic economics and emphasised the need to re-think how to model economic phenomena. Tony Lawson seems concerned that critics of standard models now will fill academic journals with contributions that make the same me...

  11. Economic production quantity concerning learning and the reworking of imperfect items

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tsai Deng-Maw

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The classical economic production quantity (EPQ model assumes that items produced are of perfect quality and the production rate is constant. However, production quality depends on the condition of the process. Due to process deterioration or other factors, the production process may shift and produce imperfect quality items. These imperfect quality items sometimes can be reworked and repaired; hence, overall production-inventory costs can be reduced significantly. In addition, it can be found in practice that the time or cost required to repetitively produce a unit of a product decreases when the number of units produced by a worker or a group of workers increases. Under this circumstance, the unit production cost cannot be regarded as constant and, therefore, cannot be ignored when taking account of the total cost. This paper incorporates the effects of learning and the reworking of defective items on the EPQ model since they were not considered in existing models. An optimal operation policy that minimizes the expected total cost per unit time is derived. A numerical example is provided to illustrate the proposed model. In addition, sensitivity analysis is performed and discussed.

  12. Free Riding Indexes for Ukrainian Economics Teachers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCorkle, Sarapage; Watts, Michael

    1996-01-01

    Reports on the adaptation and replication of Jane Leuthold's experiment concerning consumer choice, investments, and free riding indexes. A similar experiment, conducted in a Ukrainian classroom, produced similar results with a few notable exceptions. The exceptions reflected the Ukrainians' lack of familiarity with western economic thought. (MJP)

  13. VALUE ADDED TAX IN THE ECONOMIC CRISIS CONTEXT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mara Cristian

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available This article tries to present the major aspects concerning the value added tax in the context of economic crisis in European Union countries and Romania. The paper realizes an analysis of the impact of economic crises on VAT in the European space underlining the current situation when the revenues from VAT represent a valuable source of financing the public expenditures. In Romania the economic crises has led to increasing o f VAT rate from 19% to 24%. This measure is an important fiscal measure for the state budget and this study tries to reflect the impact of this VAT rate increase on the public revenues and consumption.

  14. China Report, Economic Affairs, No. 369

    Science.gov (United States)

    1983-08-03

    Transportation Capacity Urged (SHIJIE JINGJI DAOBAO, 9 May 83) .. h2 Briefs Shandong Containerized Traffic ^ GENERAL Function of 󈧎-Year Patent" During...forum on economic work attended by responsible comrades of all prefectures and cities, Vice Governor Zhu Kui put forward five views on the question...TRANSPORTATION GREAT INCREASE IN TRANSPORTATION CAPACITY URGED Shanghai SHIJIE JINGJI DAOBAO in Chinese 9 May 83 P 1 [Article: "Disseminate Widely Used New

  15. Globalisation, economics and professionalism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Chay-Hoon; Macneill, Paul

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents an analysis of the effect of globalisation and attendant economic factors on the global practice of medicine, medical education, medical ethics and medical professionalism. The authors discuss the implications of these trends, citing case scenarios in the healthcare insurance, medical tourism, pharmaceutical industries, and the educational systems as well as in clinical practice, to illustrate the impact of globalisation and economics on professionalism. Globalisation, on the one hand, offers benefits for the global practice of medicine and for medical education. On the other, globalisation can have negative effects, particularly when the main driver is to maximise profitability across national boundaries rather than concern for human well-being. Appraising the effect of globalisation on professionalism involves assessing its effects at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and institutional levels, and its effect on society at large.

  16. The Indian Stock Market and the Great Recession

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arindam MANDAL

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available This study analyzes the impact of the outbreak of the Great Recession of 2007 on the behavior of the Indian stock market. The SENSEX index of the Bombay Stock Exchange is analyzed for the prerecession period of January 2002 – November 2007 and the postrecession outbreak period of December 2007 – July 2010. Substantial increase in SENSEX return volatility observed during the post-recession outbreak period, whereas no substantial difference in returns between two periods is found. Also strong co-movements in returns and volatility are observed between the SENSEX and other major stock indexes during the post-recession period. Our results establish the dominance of global factors in influencing Indian stock market behavior during periods of economic turmoil.

  17. Great war, ethics of Vidovdan, memory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Šijaković Bogoljub

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Beginning with a characterization of contemporaneity (dominance of the financial sector and high technology, politicization of economy, ideological use of culture and control of the capacity for thought and a brief analysis of expansionism (political, economic, cultural on the eve of the Great War, the author embarks on a more detailed description of the spiritual situation in the wake of the Great War: in philosophy, literature, art, as well as the national-political programmatic texts and war propaganda publications of German intellectuals of the time. The continuity of the Austro-Hungarian colonial policy towards the Balkans and Serbia culminates in instigating a preventive war against Serbia by the elites in Berlin and Vienna, which is of importance with regard to the question of responsibility for the war, guided by concrete aims of war in which causes for war are reflected. These war elites wanted to declare the assassination in Sarajevo as the cause of war, which in fact was a political assassination and tyrannicide. The freedom movement of democratic youth, Mlada Bosna (Young Bosnia, needs to be viewed in the European context as inspired by the Serbian tradition of the cult of Kosovo and the ethics of Vidovdan (St Vitus' Day which speaks both about the victim's sacrifice as sublimation of history and about just suffering as elements of identity. Historical memory suggests that historical responsibility is transgenerational. The epic proportions of Serbian suffering in the Great War have additionally encouraged the positing of the theme of St Vitus' Day Temple (Vidovdanski Hram as envisaged by Ivan Meštrović. The foundations of this idea were shaken by Miloš Crnjanski who, in his 'Lyrics of Ithaca', succeeds in returning to Vidovdan (St Vitus' Day the inexhaustible national power of validity. Because of enormous Serbian military and civilian casualties in recent history, the need to establish a Victim's Sacrifice Memorial, in our day

  18. Prediction of future dispute concerning nuclear power generation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1981-04-01

    This investigation is the third research on the public acceptance of nuclear power generation by the National Congress on Social Economics. In this study, how the energy dispute including that concerning nuclear power generation will develop in 1980s and 1990s, how the form of dispute and the point of controversy will change, were predicted. Though the maintenance of the concord of groups strongly regulates the behavior of people, recently they have become to exercise individual rights frequently. The transition to the society of dispute is the natural result of the modernization of society and the increase of richness. The proper prediction of social problems and the planning and execution of proper countermeasures are very important. The background, objective, basic viewpoint, range and procedure of this investigation, the change of social dispute, the history of the dispute concerning nuclear power generation, the basic viewpoint in the prediction of the dispute concerning nuclear power generation, the social situation in 1980s, the prediction and avoidance of the dispute in view of social and energy situations, and the fundamental strategy for seeking a clue to the solution in 1980s and 1990s are described. The establishment of neutral mediation organs and the flexible technologies of nuclear reactors are necessary. (Kako, I.)

  19. Economic Impacts of Power Shortage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peng Ou

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The electricity industry is a basic industry of the national economy. It has experienced several large-scale power shortages, hard power shortage and soft power shortage, which have brought a great threat to China’s sustainable economic development. To solve this problem better, it is necessary to make a quantitative assessment of the economic impacts of power shortage. The CGE model is commonly used for simulating economic shocks and policy effects. It describes supply, demand and equilibrium in different markets by simulating the economic mechanism through a set of equations. Once changed, the exogenous variables will affect a certain part of the system and then the whole system, leading to changes in quantities and prices. The equilibrium state will also change from one to another. A static CGE model is built in this paper, and the Social Accounting Matrix (SAM of eight sectors of China in 2007 is compiled, in order to simulate the economic impacts of hard power shortage and soft power shortage. Simulation results show that the negative effects of power shortage on economic development are very significant, and the effects vary in different sectors. Especially, under the background of hard power shortage, the industrial sector suffers most. The economic cost of power shortage is considerable, and the main reason for it is the specific administrative pricing system in China. The low electricity price in the long term will lead to insufficient construction and hard power shortage; moreover, that in the short run would result in soft power shortage. In order to solve the problem of power shortage completely, power system reform is inevitable.

  20. Economic Efficiencyo on Limited Liability Companies: some Considerations on Economic Analysis of Law

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martinho Martins Botelho

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents briefly a theoretical approach about limited efficiency from the perspective Economic Analysis of Law (EAL of the limited liability company by examining initially the question of limited liability, under the scrutiny of the pro-rata theory and model manager-investor.  It approaches the liability of directors of corporations incorporated in the form of a limited company. Subsequently, its theoretical approaches are about the analysis of the first generation of agency theory (contract manager-investor incentives, the hypothesis of Modigliani-Miller irrelevance, and structures of great property.

  1. Researches with the 'Fertexpert' model concerning the relationships between the efficiency indexes of the fertilizers usage in optimal economic rates and the agrochemical indexes of the soil and expected yields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Budoi, G.; Berca, M.; Borlan, Z.; Gavriluta, I.; Soare, M.; Danuso, F.; Bireescu, L.

    1999-01-01

    The 'Fertexpert' model allows undertaking researches concerning the variation of efficiency indexes for fertilizers usage in the case of many crops depending on the content of available soil nutrients (the values of soil agrochemical indexes - IA) and on the expected yield, R s , when fertilization are applied in optimal economic rates, DOE. The physical efficiency indexes calculated and researched are the following: the total physical yield increase, SFR (kg/ha), the specific average yield increase, SSp (kg/kg N, P 2 O 5 or K 2 O), the specific consumption of active substance (a.s.) from fertilizer, CSp (kg a.s./1 kg average yield increase). The economic efficiency indexes computed are: the total profit, in monetary units/ha, the specific profit, in monetary units/l monetary unit spent with fertilization, PSp, and in monetary units/kg a.s., PSpsa. The model also allows the study of DOE variation depending on R s and IA. Starting from the made calculations, there can be drown up specific graphics that can then be used in practice and for research purposes to. Refs. 6 (author)

  2. German enterprises and the changes in energy economics due to increased concerns regarding environmental sustainability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weber Gregor

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available This article is part of a first year doctoral research regarding the current state of knowledge in environmental sustainability, energy economics and their impact on European enterprises. As the current changes and modifications of the German energy economics system are observed by people all around the globe, the current paper analyzes what has been said until now in the scientific literature on character of the new strategy for energy consumption and production in Germany and its impact on environmental and social sustainability. With the help of two questionnaire-based surveys conducted in 2013 and 2014 through the German DIHK1, German enterprises were surveyed in order to: identify potential differences and similarities between the two periods, identify the effects of the energy transition on companies’ profitability, and analyze these effects and compare the results in terms of potential trend developments. The research findings confirmed that changes in the energy system affect not only the environmental sustainability only, but also the economy, in some cases even independent of the stage in which the changing system of the economy presently is.

  3. A theorem on the methodology of positive economics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eduardo Pol

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available It has long been recognized that the Milton Friedman’s 1953 essay on economic methodology (or F53, for short displays open-ended unclarities. For example, the notion of “unrealistic assumption” plays a role of absolutely fundamental importance in his methodological framework, but the term itself was never unambiguously defined in any of the Friedman’s contributions to the economics discipline. As a result, F53 is appealing and liberating because the choice of premises in economic theorizing is not subject to any constraints concerning the degree of realisticness (or unrealisticness of the assumptions. The question: “Does the methodology of positive economics prevent the overlapping between economics and science fiction?” comes very naturally, indeed. In this paper, we show the following theorem: the Friedman’s methodology of positive economics does not exclude science fiction. This theorem is a positive statement, and consequently, it does not involve value judgements. However, it throws a wrench on the formulation of economic policy based on surreal models.

  4. Taxes and Economic Growth in Developing Countries : A Dynamic Panel Approach

    OpenAIRE

    NANTOB, N'Yilimon

    2014-01-01

    This paper looks at the effects of taxes increase on economic growth of 47 developing countries. In developing countries, there is no magic tax strategy to encourage economic growth. Some countries with high tax burdens have high growth rates and some countries with low tax burdens have low growth rates. Despite much theoretical and empirical inquiry as well as political and policy controversy, no simple answer exists concerning the relationship of taxes on economic growth in developing count...

  5. Bayesian Averaging over Many Dynamic Model Structures with Evidence on the Great Ratios and Liquidity Trap Risk

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    R.W. Strachan (Rodney); H.K. van Dijk (Herman)

    2008-01-01

    textabstractA Bayesian model averaging procedure is presented that makes use of a finite mixture of many model structures within the class of vector autoregressive (VAR) processes. It is applied to two empirical issues. First, stability of the Great Ratios in U.S. macro-economic time series is

  6. Techno-Economic, Sustainability & Environmental Impact Diagnosis (TESED) Framework

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Loureiro da Costa Lira Gargalo, Carina; Carvalho, Ana; Matos, Henrique A.

    2014-01-01

    that truly sustainable design alternatives can befound.This work proposes a framework,called ‘Techno-Economic Sustainability Environmental Impact Diagnosis’ (TESED) that allows users to assess chemical/biochemical processes in a product oriented analysis.TESED is asystematic and generic approach that can......Nowadays, companies are looking for new sustainable design alternatives that improve their original processes.To assesst he best designalternative, economic aspects have been the preferred indicators. However, environmental and social concerns should also be included in the decision process so...

  7. Effects of Great Barrier Reef degradation on recreational reef-trip demand: a contingent behaviour approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kragt, M.E.; Roebeling, P.C.; Ruijs, A.J.W.

    2009-01-01

    There is a growing concern that increased nutrient and sediment runoff from river catchments are a potential source of coral reef degradation. Degradation of reefs may affect the number of tourists visiting the reef and, consequently, the economic sectors that rely on healthy reefs for their income

  8. Utility, Economic Rationalism and the Circumscription of Agency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dirita, P. A.; Parmenter, T. R.; Stancliffe, R. J.

    2008-01-01

    Background: Great strides have been achieved over the past few decades in service provision for people with intellectual disability (ID). However, there has also been a growth in the use of economic rationalism and a related rise in managerialism in forming service provision outcomes. Method: An account of the focus on process and means of…

  9. Economics and sociology: Between cooperation and intolerance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stojanović Božo

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available In social sciences two opposing tendencies act simultaneously: the growth of specialization and the need for synthesis. Similar tendencies are noticeable when economics and sociology are in question. The need for these two sciences to cooperate was noticed a long time ago. However, an increasingly intensive exchange has been achieved only recently, particularly in the explanation of individual and group behavior. The works of Mancur Olson are a good example how the results of economics can be inspiring for the research in other sciences, particularly sociology and political science. Applying the results he got by analyzing the logic of collective action, Olson managed to attain significant insight concerning the functioning of economics and society as a whole.

  10. A concern-based method to prioritize spill response activities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lamarche, A.; Bart, H.

    2002-01-01

    The Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Team (SCAT) of the Emergencies Division of Environment Canada in the Ontario Region developed a computerized method to help rank segments of shoreline according to levels of concern in the event of an oil spill. The original SCAT approach was designed to allow survey teams to acquire information about the state of shoreline spills so that assessments of oilings would be comparable in time and space. The SCAT method, which allows several decision makers to obtain an unbiased evaluation of the oiling situation, has been recognized in both Canada and the United States as a method that ensures the consistency of data gathering and processing for prioritization purposes. The concern-based prioritization system was integrated within the computerized response tools used by the SCAT team using tools such as the Great Lakes Electronic Environmental Sensitivities Atlas (GLEESA), a geographic information system (GIS) of environmental data, and Shore Assess, a GIS based computerized system used to provide support during a response phase of a spill. It was noted that this method is considered to be a practical response tool designed around the principles of performance support and cybernetics to help decision makers set priorities. It is not designed for pre-impact assessment. Instead, it ensures that existing knowledge of the spill characteristics and environmental conditions are used in a consistent and logical method to prioritize contingency plans. The factors used to evaluate concern for oiling, shoreline type and land use were described. Factors for concern assessment of biological organisms include the status of organisms as being either endangered, threatened, vulnerable, special concern, or not at risk. Characteristics of the species, potential effect of the pollutant and potential effect from response activities are other factors for concern. The method evaluates the concern for every category using a simple algorithm which is

  11. Panorama 2018 - Overview of economic carbon pricing tools worldwide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coussy, Paula

    2018-01-01

    The Paris Agreement signed at COP21 came into effect in November 2016. This agreement aims to hold the increase in global average temperature to below 2 deg. C and pursue efforts to limit the rise to 1.5 deg. C by 2100. Governments and local jurisdictions must now implement an economic and regulatory framework to encourage greenhouse gas reductions. One of the economic tools available is carbon pricing. It varies greatly in form and value at international level and is deployed in all sectors of the economy. (author)

  12. Panorama 2017 - Overview of economic carbon pricing tools worldwide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coussy, Paula

    2017-06-01

    The Paris Agreement signed at COP21 came into effect in November 2016. This agreement aims to hold the increase in global average temperature to below 2 deg. C and pursue efforts to limit the rise to 1.5 deg. C by 2100. Governments and local jurisdictions must now implement an economic and regulatory framework to encourage greenhouse gas reductions. One of the economic tools available is carbon pricing. It varies greatly in form and value at international level and is deployed in all sectors of the economy

  13. WRF model sensitivity to land surface model and cumulus parameterization under short-term climate extremes over the southern Great Plains of the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lisi Pei; Nathan Moore; Shiyuan Zhong; Lifeng Luo; David W. Hyndman; Warren E. Heilman; Zhiqiu. Gao

    2014-01-01

    Extreme weather and climate events, especially short-term excessive drought and wet periods over agricultural areas, have received increased attention. The Southern Great Plains (SGP) is one of the largest agricultural regions in North America and features the underlying Ogallala-High Plains Aquifer system worth great economic value in large part due to production...

  14. El espejismo de una energía social. La economía del hidrógeno

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valero Matas, Jesús A.

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper is a critical examination of proposals for a “hydrogen economy.” In Jeremy Rifkin’s The Hydrogen Economy (2002 such an economy was proposed as a solution to the many problems associated with the use of fossil fuels including the dangers of global climate change. The promise has been echoed since by many others who have been concerned by energy policy. Hydrogen has increasingly been viewed as a “dorado” energy that would greatly benefit all humanity, especially the most disadvantaged. But the golden age of energy has not yet appeared and may never do so. There are multiple problems in the development of a hydrogen economy. One of these problems concerns social impacts, which have especially been ignored. It is the potential social impacts of a hydrogen economy that are given special attention here, in order to explore some of the reasons for doubting that the social economy of hydrogen will be able to realize the many hopes associated with it.

    El texto reflexiona sobre la economía del hidrógeno. Una esperanza que abrió Rifkin en su obra La economía del hidrógeno (2002 como solución a los carburantes fósiles y al efecto invernadero. Este nuevo “dorado” energético que iba a solucionar los problemas energéticos de la humanidad, en especial a los más desfavorecidos, no ha llegado, y posiblemente nunca llegue en los términos de Rifkin. Las cuestiones que impiden desarrollar la economía del hidrógeno son múltiples, entre ellas sus impactos sociales. La divulgación de las tesis de Rifkin abrieron la esperanza a muchos sectores de la sociedad, y tras el paso de los años esto no se ha cumplido y está lejos de hacerse realidad. Se exponen algunas razones por las cuales la economía “social” del hidrógeno no podrá convertirse en esa energía de salvación social.

  15. A comparative thermodynamic, economic and risk analysis concerning implementation of oxy-combustion power plants integrated with cryogenic and hybrid air separation units

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Skorek-Osikowska, Anna; Bartela, Łukasz; Kotowicz, Janusz

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Mathematical model of an integrated oxy-combustion power plant. • Comparison of a hybrid membrane–cryogenic oxygen generation plant with a cryogenic plant. • Thermodynamic analysis of the modeled cases of the plant. • Comparative economic analysis of the power plant with cryogenic and hybrid ASU. • Comparative risk analysis using a Monte Carlo method and sensitivity analysis. - Abstract: This paper presents a comparison of two types of oxy-combustion power plant that differ from each other in terms of the method of oxygen separation. For the purpose of the analysis, detailed thermodynamic models of oxy-fuel power plants with gross power of approximately 460 MW were built. In the first variant (Case 1), the plant is integrated with a cryogenic air separation unit (ASU). In the second variant (Case 2), the plant is integrated with a hybrid membrane–cryogenic installation. The models were built and optimized using the GateCycle, Aspen Plus and Aspen Custom Modeller software packages and with the use of our own computational codes. The results of the thermodynamic evaluation of the systems, which primarily uses indicators such as the auxiliary power and efficiencies of the whole system and of the individual components that constitute the unit, are presented. Better plant performance is observed for Case 2, which has a net efficiency of electricity generation that is 1.1 percentage points greater than that of Case 1. For the selected structure of the system, an economic analysis of the solutions was made. This analysis accounts for different scenarios of the functioning of the Emission Trading Scheme and includes detailed estimates of the investment costs in both cases. As an indicator of profitability, the break-even price of electricity was used primarily. The results of the analysis for the assumptions made are presented in this paper. A system with a hybrid air separation unit has slightly better economic performance. The break-even price

  16. Bi-national Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Basin climate change and hydrologic scenarios report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lavender, B.; Smith, J.V.; Koshida, G.; Mortsch, L.D. [eds.

    1998-09-01

    Climate experts in government, industry and academic institutions have put together a national assessment of how climate change will affect Canadians and their social, biological and economic environment over the next century. This volume documents the impacts and implications of climate change on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Basin, and provides an analysis and assessment of various climate and hydrologic scenarios used for the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Basin Project. As part of the analysis and assessment, results from the Canadian Climate Centre second-generation General Circulation Model and four transposition scenarios for both climate and hydrological resources are reviewed. The objective is to provide an indication of sensitivities and vulnerabilities of the region to climate, with a view to improve adaptation to potential climate changes. 25 tabs., 26 figs. figs.

  17. Great tits (Parus major reduce caterpillar damage in commercial apple orchards.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christel M M Mols

    Full Text Available Alternative ways to control caterpillar pests and reduce the use of pesticides in apple orchards are in the interest of the environment, farmers and the public. Great tits have already been shown to reduce damage under high caterpillar density when breeding in nest boxes in an experimental apple orchard. We tested whether this reduction also occurs under practical conditions of Integrated Pest Management (IPM, as well as Organic Farming (OF, by setting up an area with nest boxes while leaving a comparable area as a control within 12 commercial orchards. We showed that in IPM orchards, but not in OF orchards, in the areas with breeding great tits, apples had 50% of the caterpillar damage of the control areas. Offering nest boxes to attract insectivorous passerines in orchards can thus lead to more limited pesticide use, thereby adding to the natural biological diversity in an agricultural landscape, while also being economically profitable to the fruit growers.

  18. Great tits (Parus major) reduce caterpillar damage in commercial apple orchards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mols, Christel M M; Visser, Marcel E

    2007-02-07

    Alternative ways to control caterpillar pests and reduce the use of pesticides in apple orchards are in the interest of the environment, farmers and the public. Great tits have already been shown to reduce damage under high caterpillar density when breeding in nest boxes in an experimental apple orchard. We tested whether this reduction also occurs under practical conditions of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), as well as Organic Farming (OF), by setting up an area with nest boxes while leaving a comparable area as a control within 12 commercial orchards. We showed that in IPM orchards, but not in OF orchards, in the areas with breeding great tits, apples had 50% of the caterpillar damage of the control areas. Offering nest boxes to attract insectivorous passerines in orchards can thus lead to more limited pesticide use, thereby adding to the natural biological diversity in an agricultural landscape, while also being economically profitable to the fruit growers.

  19. Sustainability and Indicators Overview from Ecological Economics and Environmental Economics Perspective; Panoramica General de la Sostenibilidad y sus Indicadores desde la Perspectiva de la Economia Ecologica y Economia Ambiental

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cornejo, M

    2012-04-11

    From the emergence of the concept of sustainable development (1987) social sciences have trying to resolve the difficult balance between economy, environment and society and how to measure it with indicators. There are several approaches to sustainability of the economic doctrine which provide different points of view on this issue. The purpose of this article is multiple, firstly we analyze the historical evolution of the relationship between the economic thought and the natural environment. Second, we study the two main economic approaches which study sustainability concerns: the environmental economics and ecological economics. Finally, we examine some of the main economic and environmental indicators. (Author) 40 refs.

  20. Great Western Malting Company geothermal project, Pocatello, Idaho. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Christensen, N.T.; McGeen, M.A.; Corlett, D.F.; Urmston, R.

    1981-12-23

    The Great Western Malting Company recently constructed a barley malting facility in Pocatello, Idaho, designed to produce 6.0 million bushels per year of brewing malt. This facility uses natural gas to supply the energy for germination and kilning processes. The escalating cost of natural gas has prompted the company to look at alternate and more economical sources of energy. Trans Energy Systems has investigated the viabiity of using geothermal energy at the new barley processing plant. Preliminary investigations show that a geothermal resource probably exists, and payback on the installation of a system to utilize the resource will occur in under 2 years. The Great Western Malting plant site has geological characteristics which are similar to areas where productive geothermal wells have been established. Geological investigations indicate that resource water temperatures will be in the 150 to 200/sup 0/F range. Geothermal energy of this quality will supply 30 to 98% of the heating requirements currently supplied by natural gas for this malting plant. Trans Energy Systems has analyzed several systems of utilizing the geothermal resource at the Great Western barley malting facility. These systems included: direct use of geothermal water; geothermal energy heating process water through an intermediary heat exchanger; coal or gas boosted geothermal systems; and heat pump boosted geothermal system. The analysis examined the steps that are required to process the grain.

  1. Environmental and economic evaluation of natural capital appropriation through building construction: practical case study in the Italian context.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bastianoni, Simone; Galli, Alessandro; Pulselli, Riccardo Maria; Niccolucci, Valentina

    2007-11-01

    This paper focuses on appropriation of natural capital through construction of buildings. The ecological footprint and the Costanza natural capital concepts are applied. The environmental consequences of human settlement are currently of great concern, and a need is felt to reduce the impact of building on the environment. The embodied energy of building materials and the "land area" required to sustain their production are considered to evaluate the demand on nature of this activity. The ecological footprints of 2 typical Italian buildings are compared. The paper also focuses on how to reduce the natural capital appropriation of building construction by means of environmentally inexpensive materials, renewable energy resources, and optimization of the use of bioproductive land by construction of multistoried buildings. Finally, to allocate an environmental load of buildings, an economic evaluation of natural capital appropriation through building construction is proposed.

  2. Addressing concerns about the agricultural impacts of siting a nuclear waste repository in Texas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boryczka, M.; Darrough, B.

    1986-01-01

    Public concerns related to the siting of a nuclear repository have included the potential impacts to specific economic sectors. In Texas, local residents have expressed concern about how a repository will affect agriculture. Several major questions have arisen with respect to this issue including: 1) how will a repository's requirements for land and water affect agriculture, 2) how will a repository affect agricultural land values, and 3) how will actual or perceived contamination of locally grown products affect their marketability? This paper describes the concerns raised by local residents and discusses the approach to analyzing the concerns identified. An evaluation of agricultural impacts has been prepared for the Department of Energy's Enviromental Assessment (EA) documents. In addition, activities needed to further evaluate these impacts are planned for site characterization. Both the current analysis and planned activities are described

  3. Metro nature, environmental health, and economic value.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolf, Kathleen L; Robbins, Alicia S T

    2015-05-01

    Nearly 40 years of research provides an extensive body of evidence about human health, well-being, and improved function benefits associated with experiences of nearby nature in cities. We demonstrate the numerous opportunities for future research efforts that link metro nature, human health and well-being outcomes, and economic values. We reviewed the literature on urban nature-based health and well-being benefits. In this review, we provide a classification schematic and propose potential economic values associated with metro nature services. Economic valuation of benefits derived from urban green systems has largely been undertaken in the fields of environmental and natural resource economics, but studies have not typically addressed health outcomes. Urban trees, parks, gardens, open spaces, and other nearby nature elements-collectively termed metro nature-generate many positive externalities that have been largely overlooked in urban economics and policy. Here, we present a range of health benefits, including benefit context and beneficiaries. Although the understanding of these benefits is not yet consistently expressed, and although it is likely that attempts to link urban ecosystem services and economic values will not include all expressions of cultural or social value, the development of new interdisciplinary approaches that integrate environmental health and economic disciplines are greatly needed. Metro nature provides diverse and substantial benefits to human populations in cities. In this review, we begin to address the need for development of valuation methodologies and new approaches to understanding the potential economic outcomes of these benefits.

  4. Performance concerns for high duty fuel cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Esposito, V.J.; Gutierrez, J.E.

    1999-01-01

    One of the goals of the nuclear industry is to achieve economic performance such that nuclear power plants are competitive in a de-regulated market. The manner in which nuclear fuel is designed and operated lies at the heart of economic viability. In this sense reliability, operating flexibility and low costs are the three major requirements of the NPP today. The translation of these three requirements to the design is part of our work. The challenge today is to produce a fuel design which will operate with long operating cycles, high discharge burnup, power up-rating and while still maintaining all design and safety margins. European Fuel Group (EFG) understands that to achieve the required performance high duty/energy fuel designs are needed. The concerns for high duty design includes, among other items, core design methods, advanced Safety Analysis methodologies, performance models, advanced material and operational strategies. The operational aspects require the trade-off and evaluation of various parameters including coolant chemistry control, material corrosion, boiling duty, boron level impacts, etc. In this environment MAEF is the design that EFG is now offering based on ZIRLO alloy and a robust skeleton. This new design is able to achieve 70 GWd/tU and Lead Test Programs are being executed to demonstrate this capability. A number of performance issues which have been a concern with current designs have been resolved such as cladding corrosion and incomplete RCCA insertion (IRI). As the core duty becomes more aggressive other new issues need to be addressed such as Axial Offset Anomaly. These new issues are being addressed by combination of the new design in concert with advanced methodologies to meet the demanding needs of NPP. The ability and strategy to meet high duty core requirements, flexibility of operation and maintain acceptable balance of all technical issues is the discussion in this paper. (authors)

  5. POLISH AND EUROPEAN ECONOMIC CULTURE – A COMPARISON

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Izabela Ścibiorska-Kowalczyk

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The term "economic culture" describes historically shaped elements in the general culture of population, concerning values recognized and desired by a particular community, relating to the management and to the economic system of the states. The most important economic cultural behaviors include: awareness of economic choices, attitudes and behaviors of economic choices, the rules of the economic game. There is a theory which assumes that the globalization of the economy will lead to the emergence of a single, common to the whole world culture through enculturation, which is defined as a gradual process of growing of the individual (or group into the culture or cultures through assimilation of cultural heritage of the surrounding community. More inculturation can be understood as a process of movement between different cultures come into contact and the transmission of cultural patterns. The article is an attempt at presenting the Polish economic culture against the European background and identifying the differences. It discusses the impact of national history and religion on the present shape of economic life, with particular regard to its negative aspects, i.e. the relatively high level of bribery and unemployment or the negative personal attitudes.

  6. Attitudes, understanding, and concerns regarding medical research amongst Egyptians: A qualitative pilot study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raafat May

    2007-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Medical research must involve the participation of human subjects. Knowledge of patients' perspectives and concerns with their involvement in research would enhance recruitment efforts, improve the informed consent process, and enhance the overall trust between patients and investigators. Several studies have examined the views of patients from Western countries. There is limited empirical research involving the perspectives of individuals from developing countries. The purpose of this study is to examine the attitudes of Egyptian individuals toward medical research. Such information would help clarify the type and extent of concerns regarding research participation of individuals from cultural, economic, and political backgrounds that differ from those in developed countries. Methods We conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 Egyptian individuals recruited from the outpatient settings (public and private at Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt. Interviews were taped, transcribed, and translated. Thematic analysis followed. Results All individuals valued the importance of medical research; however most would not participate in research that involved more than minimal risk. Individuals were comfortable with studies involving surveys and blood sampling, but many viewed drug trials as being too risky. All participants valued the concept of informed consent, as they thought that their permission to be in a research study was paramount. Many participants had discomfort with or difficulty in the understanding several research concepts: randomization, double-blind, and clinical equipoise. Trust in the physicians performing research was important in deciding to participate in clinical research. The small sample size and the selection bias associated with obtaining information from only those who agreed to participate in a research study represent limitations in this study. Conclusion Overall, individuals in our sample recognize

  7. THE PLACE OF ENTREPRISE ECONOMY WITHIN ECONOMIC SCIENCES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    CLAUDIA ISAC

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available In this paper I have tried to present the place and importance of the discipline of Enterprise Economy among economic disciplines. Thus, in the first part we have showed the opinions of various authors from Romania on the interference of this discipline in the economic field with great implications through the 5 functions of the company to be presented. The second part of the thesis highlights the enterprise within modern economy and thus all the effects that increasingly complex and dynamic economic processes have upon the functions of the enterprise, the effective management of activities within the major functions of the enterprise: production, commercial, financial-accounting and human resources. Far from being just an analytic approach, this paper reveals the fact that the economy of enterprise is a theoretical and practical discipline with the aim of synthesizing basic knowledge of economic processes that take place at the microeconomic level.

  8. The Great Recession, insurance mandates, and the use of in vitro fertilization services in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiatpongsan, Sorapop; Huckman, Robert S; Hornstein, Mark D

    2015-02-01

    To investigate the relationship between economic activities, insurance mandates, and the use of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in the United States. We examined the correlation between the coincident index (a proxy for overall economic conditions) and IVF use at the national level from 2000 to 2011. We then analyzed the relationship at the state level through longitudinal regression models. The base model tested the correlation at the state level. Additional models examined whether this relationship was affected, both separately and jointly, by insurance mandates and the Great Recession. Not applicable. Not applicable. None. Direction and magnitude of the relationship between the coincident index and IVF use, and influences of insurance mandates and the Great Recession. The coincident index was positively correlated with IVF use at the national level (correlation coefficient = 0.89). At the state level, an increase of one unit in the coincident index was associated with an increase of 16 IVF cycles per 1 million women, with a significantly greater increase in IVF use in states with insurance mandates than in states without mandates (27 versus 15 IVF cycles per 1 million women). The Great Recession did not alter the relationship between the coincident index and IVF use. Our study demonstrates a positive relationship between the economy and IVF use, with greater magnitude in states with insurance mandates. This relationship was not affected by the Great Recession regardless of mandated insurance coverage. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Mental health and related factors after the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yukari Yokoyama

    Full Text Available Mental health is one of the most important issues facing disaster survivors. The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence and correlates of mental health problems in survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami at 6-11 months after the disaster. The questionnaire and notification were sent to the survivors in three municipalities in the Tohoku area of the Northern part of Honshu, Japan's largest island, between September 2011 and February 2012. Questionnaires were sent to 12,772, 11,411, and 18,648 residents in the Yamada, Otsuchi, and Rikuzentakata municipalities, respectively. Residents were asked to bring the completed questionnaires to their health check-ups. A total of 11,124 or (26.0% of them underwent health check-ups, and 10,198 were enrolled. We excluded 179 for whom a K6 score was missing and two who were both 17 years of age, which left 10,025 study participants (3,934 male and 6,091 female, mean age 61.0 years. K6 was used to measure mental health problems. The respondents were classified into moderate (5-12 of K6 and serious mental health problems (13+. A total of 42.6% of the respondents had moderate or serious mental health problems. Multivariate analysis showed that women were significantly associated with mental health problems. Other variables associated with mental health problems were: younger male, health complaints, severe economic status, relocations, and lack of a social network. An interaction effect of sex and economic status on severe mental health problems was statistically significant. Our findings suggest that mental health problems were prevalent in survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. For men and women, health complaints, severe economic status, relocations, and lack of social network may be important risk factors of poor mental health. For men, interventions focusing on economic support may be particularly useful in reducing mental health problems after the disaster.

  10. The economic and political integration of Europe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1992-01-01

    This book covers issues concerning US coal and mineral exports to Europe in the wake of the economic and political integration of Europe. Topics addressed include: The European Energy Charter; the implications of the European Energy Charter for coal companies; and tax issues, coal development and the European Common Market

  11. THE IMPORTANCE OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF KOSOVA

    OpenAIRE

    Myrvete Badivuku Pantina; Mihane Berisha Namani

    2008-01-01

    Kosova, in the period of nine years, has gone from a post-conflict environment into a state which is considered to be under transition. It has passed the reconstruction period by orienting itself toward the economic development and European Integrations. Yet, an economic development is not enough to be able to address the challenges Kosova is facing, such as high unemployment and high trade deficit rate. The unemployment rate in Kosova is one the highest economic concerns. The unemployment ra...

  12. Time to Reject the Privileging of Economic Theory over Empirical Evidence? A Reply to Lawson (2009)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Juselius, Katarina

    The present financial and economic crisis has revealed a systemic failure of academic economics and emphasized the need to re-think how to model economic phenomena. Lawson (2009) seems concerned that critics of standard models now will fill academic journals with contributions that make the same ...

  13. Strategies of development and diversification: a comparative analysis of Qatar and Dubai’s economic development models

    OpenAIRE

    Althani, Aldana

    2017-01-01

    More than any other GCC states, political and economic foundation linkages between Dubai and Qatar have been great factors that could result in similar economic development. Shared oil boom experiences and early political cooperation brought several significant opportunities where Qatar and Dubai can manage similar economic development. Yet, Dubai’s government was able to develop and diversify its economy, thus becoming one of the largest economic hubs in the world, while Qatar wasn’t able to...

  14. Counterbalancing Student Debt with "Asset Empowerment" and Economic Mobility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elliott, William; Chan, Monnica; Poore, Anthony

    2015-01-01

    Education provides one of the best opportunities for American children to build the capacity to climb up the economic ladder. It has even been called the "great equalizer" in American society. In today's tightened labor market, providing equal access to postsecondary education is more critical than ever. The Georgetown Center on…

  15. The Impact of the Great Recession on Monetary and Fiscal Policy in Developed Market Economies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Šehović Damir

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: With the occurrence of the crisis in 2007, which caused the largest economic contraction since the Great Depression in the thirties, it has become evident that the previous understanding of strategies, effects and roles of monetary and fiscal policy should be redefined. Objectives: The aim of this paper is to illustrate a possible expected change in monetary and fiscal policy in developed market economies that could occur as a consequence of the Great Recession. Methods/Approach: The paper provides a comparative analysis of various primary economic variables related to the developed OECD countries, as well as the empirical testing of the selected theoretical assumptions. Results: The changes in monetary policy refer to the question of raising target inflation, considering a possible use of aggregate price level targeting and paying attention to the role of central banks in suppressing the formation of an asset bubble. The success of fiscal policy in attaining stabilization depends on the size of possible fiscal measures and creation of automatic stabilizers. Conclusions: For the most part, monetary and fiscal policies will still stay unchanged, although some segments of these policies need to be improved.

  16. The reception of Austrian economics in Italy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio Magliulo

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays the Austrian School enjoys high reputation in Italy: books by Mises, Hayek and other Austrian economists are constantly republished and reviewed with great interest, both inside and outside academic circles. The situation was very different decades ago, when just a few Italian economists devoted attention to the Austrian School. This work studies the reception of Austrian Economics in Italy, from the beginning to our days, so as to bring out, by way of comparison, relevant features of Italian economic culture. We will try to offer just an overview of the entire story, in an attempt to provide useful elements for a deeper analysis of further topics and periods.

  17. Yugoslav-Italian Economic relations (1918‒1929: Main aspects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Latinović Goran

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The article looks at some aspects of Yugoslav-Italian economic relations from the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Great Depression. Those relations were not always driven by pure economic interests, but they also had political and strategic aims. Although Yugoslav-Italian political and diplomatic relations were well served in both Serbian/Yugoslav and Italian historiography, little has been written about economic relations between the two countries. Therefore, the article is mainly based on the documents from the Central State Archives (Archivio centrale dello Stato and Historical-Diplomatic Archives of Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Archivio storico-diplomatico del Ministero degli Affari Esteri in Rome, as well as from the Archives of Yugoslavia (Arhiv Jugoslavije in Belgrade.

  18. Constructivist Approach in a Paradigm of Public School Teachers' Professional Development in Great Britain, Canada, the USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukan, Nataliya; Fuchyla, Olena; Ihnatiuk, Halyna

    2017-01-01

    The article dwells on professional development of public school teachers as an inevitable constituent of education systems in the 21st century. In such economically developed countries as Great Britain, Canada and the USA, the problem of preparing teachers to a difficult and responsible task of upbringing and educating future citizens always…

  19. Novel effects-based monitoring approaches to evaluate chemicals of emerging concern in the St. Louis River estuary

    Science.gov (United States)

    As part of an on-going program of research in support of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the US EPA MED laboratory has been developing effects-based biomonitoring tools to evaluate the occurrence and potential hazards associated with Chemicals of Emerging Concern (CECs). ...

  20. Techno-Economic Feasibility Study of Renewable Power Systems for a Small-Scale Plasma-Assisted Nitric Acid Plant in Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aikaterini Anastasopoulou

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The expected world population growth by 2050 is likely to pose great challenges in the global food demand and, in turn, in the fertilizer consumption. The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations has forecasted that 46% of this projected growth will be attributed to Africa. This, in turn, raises further concerns about the sustainability of Africa’s contemporary fertilizer production, considering also its high dependence on fertilizer imports. Based on these facts, a novel “green” route for the synthesis of fertilizers has been considered in the context of the African agriculture by means of plasma technology. More precisely, a techno-economic feasibility study has been conducted for a small-scale plasma-assisted nitric acid plant located in Kenya and South Africa with respect to the electricity provision by renewable energy sources. In this study, standalone solar and wind power systems, as well as a hybrid system, have been assessed for two different electricity loads against certain economic criteria. The relevant simulations have been carried out in HOMER software and the optimized configurations of each examined renewable power system are presented in this study.