A Critical Evaluation of the Capital Theory Approach to Sustainable Development

Irrigation farmers in the lower reaches of the Vaal and Riet Rivers are experiencing substantial yield reductions in certain crops and more profitable crops have been withdrawn from production, hypothesised, as a result of generally poor but especially fluctuating water quality. In this paper secondary data is used in a linear programming model to test this hypothesis by calculating the potential loss in farm level optimal returns. The model is static with a time frame of two production seasons. Linear crop-water quality production functions (Ayers & Westcot, 1983; adapted from Maas & Hoffmann, 1977) are used to calculate net returns for the eight most common crops grown. Results show optimal enterprise composition under various water quality situations. Leaching is justified financially and there is a strong motivation for a change in the current water pricing system. SALMOD (Salinity and Leaching Model for Optimal irrigation Development) is the Excel Solver model used to derive the preliminary results, but is currently being developed further in GAMS (General Algebraic Modelling System). Useful results have already been obtained on which this paper is based. The ultimate aim for SALMOD is a mathematical model using dynamic optimisation, simulation and risk modelling techniques to aid in whole farm and system level management decisions to ensure sustainable irrigation agriculture under stochastic river water quality conditions.International Development,

Academic discourse practices in economics: a critical approach to evaluation strategies

El objetivo de este trabajo es realizar una aproximación lingüístico-crítica a las prácticas académicas de formación en ciencias económicas con el fin de hacer evidente de qué manera se construye verbalmente el imaginario sociodisciplinar de la economía. Se trata de mostrar que los textos disciplinares de las ciencias económicas no están exentos de procedimientos evaluativos a través de los cuales, y no siempre de una manera consciente, se manifiesta una toma de postura ideológica. Una breve aproximación al lenguaje académico y a la naturaleza de los estudios que se han realizado sobre él permitirá contextualizar el discurso disciplinario de la economía. El concepto de valoración y la clasificación Básica de sus componentes tal y como lo formuló la Lingüística Sistémico-Funcional en su Appraisal Theory (Martin and White, 2005; Hood, 2005), pero considerando las aportaciones de Hunston y Thompson (2000) y Thompson y Alba-Juez (2014). Así se dará paso al análisis de dos textos que nos permitirá observar cómo crecimiento y pobreza son expresados con recursos evaluativos diferentes y de qué manera esto puede afectar a la construcción ideológica de ambos conceptos desde los inicios mismos de aprendizaje de la disciplina.The aim of this work is to carry out a linguistic-critical approach to academic formation practices in economics in order to make clear how it is verbally constructed the sociodisciplinary imaginary. The starting point is the idea that disciplinary texts of economics are not exempt from evaluation procedures and that these show an ideological position, although this was not always consciously. A brief approach to academic language and the nature of the studies that have been done on it will allow us to contextualize the disciplinary discourse of economics. Was formulated by the Systemic Functional Linguistics in its Appraisal Theory (Martin and White, 2005; Hood, 2005), but considering the contributions of Hunston and Thompson (2000) and Alba-Thompson and Judge (2014).We will use the concept of evaluation and the basic classification of its components as it was formulated by the Systemic Functional Linguistics in its Appraisal Theory (Martin and White, 2005; Hood, 2005), but considering the contributions of Hunston and Thompson (2000) and Alba-Thompson and Judge (2014). Finally two texts on growth and poverty will be analyzed in order to see the way they are expressed using different valuation systems and how it can affect the ideological construction of both concepts from the very beginning of the learning of the subject

Sharing responsibility for learning through formative evaluation: moving to evaluation as learning

When gathering student feedback on courses and programmes in higher education, the emphasis is often placed on adaptations that academic staff can make to enhance teaching approaches and thereby improve the learning experiences of students. These are commendable aims, however, it is argued in this paper that the focus on academic staff making changes to teaching and learning misses an opportunity for students to reflect upon their influences over, and potential to enhance, their learning experiences and those of their peers. Many undergraduate and postgraduate programmes aim to develop students’ skills in critical analysis and autonomous learning, with some courses specifically requiring participants to engage in critical reflection on their practice. Yet it is relatively uncommon for evaluation of courses to include any requirement for students to evaluate their own role in the learning experience. An example is presented of a simple, small-scale formative evaluation exercise where course participants were encouraged to give feedback on a course, their learning experiences and on the teaching approach used. However, this evaluation also required participants to reflect on the role they played in their own and others’ learning. It is argued that the approach described in this paper that encourages student self-reflection on learning as an integral part of evaluation processes, is a form of evaluation as learning. This is an approach that could be adapted for use in a wide range of courses for the purpose of encouraging students to reflect more deeply on their role in their own and others’ learning

Dynamically Driven Renormalization Group

We present a detailed discussion of a novel dynamical renormalization group scheme: the Dynamically Driven Renormalization Group (DDRG). This is a general renormalization method developed for dynamical systems with non-equilibrium critical steady-state. The method is based on a real space renormalization scheme driven by a dynamical steady-state condition which acts as a feedback on the transformation equations. This approach has been applied to open non-linear systems such as self-organized critical phenomena, and it allows the analytical evaluation of scaling dimensions and critical exponents. Equilibrium models at the critical point can also be considered. The explicit application to some models and the corresponding results are discussed.Comment: Revised version, 50 LaTex pages, 6 postscript figure

Coastal resource planning system: Integrating evaluation of ecological integrity and ecosystem services valuation

Efficient and effective coastal management decisions rely on knowledge of the impact of human activities on ecosystem integrity, vulnerable species, and valued ecosystem services—collectively, human impact on environmental quality (EQ). Ecosystem-based management (EBM) is an emerging approach to address the dynamics and complexities of coupled social-ecological systems. EBM “is intended to directly address the long-term sustainable delivery of ecosystem services and the resilience of marine ecosystems to perturbations” (Rosenberg and Sandifer, 2009). The lack of a tool that integrates human choices with the ecological connections between contributing watersheds and nearshore areas, and that incorporates valuation of ecosystem services, is a critical missing piece needed for effective and efficient coastal management. To address the need for an integrative tool for evaluation of human impacts on ecosystems and their services, Battelle developed the EcoVal™ Environmental Quality Evaluation System. The EcoVal system is an updated (2009) version of the EQ Evaluation System for Water Resources developed by Battelle for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Dee et al., 1972). The Battelle EQ evaluation system has a thirty-year history of providing a standard approach to evaluate watershed EQ. This paper describes the conceptual approach and methodology of the updated EcoVal system and its potential application to coastal ecosystems. (PDF contains 4 pages