Disputed Lands

In this paper we consider the classical problem of dividing a land among many agents so that everybody is satisfied with the parcel she receives. In the literature, it is usually assumed that all the agents are endowed with cardinally comparable, additive, and monotone utility functions. In many economic and political situations violations of these assumptions may arise. We show how a family of cardinally comparable utility functions can be obtained starting directly from the agents’ preferences, and how a fair division of the land is feasible, without additivity or monotonicity requirements. Moreover, if the land to be divided can be modelled as a finite dimensional simplex, it is possible to obtain envy-free (and a fortiori fair) divisions of it into subsimplexes. The main tool is an extension of a representation theorem of Gilboa and Schmeidler (1989).Gender Fair Division; Envy-freeness; Preference Representation.

Disputed Lands

In this paper we consider the classical problem of dividing a land among many agents so that everybody is satisfied with the parcel she receives. In the literature, it is usually assumed that all the agents are endowed with cardinally comparable, additive, and monotone utility functions. In many economic and political situations violations of these assumptions may arise. We show how a family of cardinally comparable utility functions can be obtained starting directly from the agents’ preferences, and how a fair division of the land is feasible, without additivity or monotonicity requirements. Moreover, if the land to be divided can be modelled as a finite dimensional simplex, it is possible to obtain envy-free (and a fortiori fair) divisions of it into subsimplexes. The main tool is an extension of a representation theorem of Gilboa and Schmeidler (1989).In this paper we consider the classical problem of dividing a land among many agents so that everybody is satisfied with the parcel she receives. In the literature, it is usually assumed that all the agents are endowed with cardinally comparable, additive, and monotone utility functions. In many economic and political situations violations of these assumptions may arise. We show how a family of cardinally comparable utility functions can be obtained starting directly from the agents’ preferences, and how a fair division of the land is feasible, without additivity or monotonicity requirements. Moreover, if the land to be divided can be modelled as a finite dimensional simplex, it is possible to obtain envy-free (and a fortiori fair) divisions of it into subsimplexes. The main tool is an extension of a representation theorem of Gilboa and Schmeidler (1989).Refereed Working Papers / of international relevanc

On the Possible Foreign Policy of the Post-Putin Russia: The Case of Alexei Navalny’s Viewpoints on Foreign Affairs

The study delves into the foreign policy plans of Alexei Navalny, the Russian politician who is currently commonly regarded as the most prominent opposition leader and the sole plausible alternative to Vladimir Putin. Drawing on his interviews, public speeches, media publications and electoral manifestos, the author analyses his foreign policy views alongside three topics, that is, Russia’s policies towards disputed lands and states in the post-Soviet area (Crimea, Donbas, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transnistria), the country’s foreign policy orientation and priorities (especially regarding relations with the West) and assessment of the Putin regime’s foreign policy. Following this, the author speculates on the likely foundations of Russia’s foreign policy under Navalny’s possible presidency and their implications for the West

Sovereignty Over Certain Frontier Land: Belgium/The Netherlands

I samhället uppmärksammas tekniken för sin ökande komplexitet och systemiska karaktär. l vilken mån avspeglar sig detta i skolans teknikämne? Denna avhandling berör undervisning om tekniska system i ett skolperspektiv, med det huvudsakliga syftet att undersöka hur undervisning om tekniska system tas upp till behandling i skolan. Den övergripande frågeställningen är: Hur har skolan hanterat den  didaktiska uppgiften att utveckla ett undervimingsområde om tekniska system? Avhandlingen är en monografi som bygger på delstudier av tre arenor  med relevans för skolan. De tre arenorna omfattar huvudsakligen nationella styrdokument, läromedel respektive lärares arbete. Resultaten pekar bland annat på att tekniska system successivt  förstärkts som undervisningsinnehåll i styrdokument och läromedel sedan slutet på 1970-talet. Denna förändring har skett parallellt med att teknikämnets beskrivning förändrats i grundskolan. I öäverenstämmelse med modern teknikfilosofi har teknik i skolsammanhang i allt högre grad kommit att framställas som en egen kunskapskultur och inte som en del av naturvetenskaperna. Detta har varit förutsättningar för att tekniska system har kunnat etableras som innehåll. Diskursen talet om tekniska rys/em har dock skiftat i karaktär över tiden. Gemensamt för de tre arenorna är att två hegemoniska diskurser har hämmat introduktionen av tekniska system. För det första teknikundervisningens egen fascination för enkla artefakter och, för det andra, en dominant naturvetenskaplig diskurs. Härmed fokuseras undervisningen på systemens komponenter, snarare än mot systemnivån. Så tenderar t.ex. undervisning om energisystem att handla om energiomvandlingar eller kemiska reaktioner, istället för systemens uppbyggnad, funktioner, eller dess relationer till människor och samhälle. Avhandlingen visar även att tekniska system framställs som faktiskt existerande och inte som mentala konstruktioner vars gränser måste bestämmas. Produktions- och transportsystem ges framträdande positioner i teknikinnehållet. Tekniska system belyses snarare som något som påverkar omgivningen, än att de är möjliga att påverka. Överlag finns en brist på systembegrepp. Dock har styr- och reglerteknik nått en viss position. 1 avhandlingen visas även hur människans roll relativt systemen tas upp och, i samband med detta, hur ett etiskt och politiskt tema vuxit fram inom arenornas teknikdiskurs. Temat har medborgerliga förtecken och tar sina motiv från en strävan mot en hållbar utveckling. Utifrån en teknikhistorisk emfas används argument för att eleverna bör studera tekniska systems framväxt och förändring.In our society technology is becorning increasingly complex. Technological systems are now part of our evetyday lives. To what extent is this reflected in the Technology subject? This dissertation concerns education and has the aim of investigating how technological systems are treated in the Swedish school system. The overarching question is: How has the Swedish compulsory school dealt with the pedagogical challenge of det'eloping miject content about technological systems? To answer this question, the discourse of school talk on technological systems across three different school arenas has been the focus of the study so that pedagogical challenges and historicallayers relating to the discourse can be outlined. The three school arenas are the formulation, mediation, and realisation arena. They mainly encompass national curriculae, text books and teachers work, respectively, from 1980 to 2009. On the realisation arena an interactive method has been used where the researcher collaborated with a team of teachers in a lower secondary school for two years. The results are presented in two ways. First, a set of offered companion meamngs found in the expressions on the arenas are presented. The compamon meamngs emanate from three kinds of rules regolating the discourse: educational focus, system languages and curriculum emphases. Second, each arena is discussed in detail. These discussions were arrived at by feeding the categories of compamon meamngs back into the analysis process as a tool to clarify themes, orders of discourse and changes over time. On the arenas subject content relating to technological systems has successive ly strengthened its position and can be found on several curricular levels. This shift is made possible by new descriptions of technology as a distinct field of knowledge, thus affecting the view of the school subject Technology. In a Swedish context this meant dissociation from the natural sciences. Two hegemonic discourses that make the pedagogical challenge to introduce technological systems more difficult have also been found: the hegemony of the artefact and the hegemony of science. The first relates to the subject's internal interest for small products and components. The second is based on a scientific precedence where Technology is used as an arena for the illustration of scientific laws and rules. Both hegemonies have the effect of directing the educational focus away from the systernic issues around the technology at hand. The search for answers is turned inwards and downwards in the systemic hierarchy. On the other hand, production systems and controi technology have established a position in the discourse. An emerging political and ethical theme concerned with the relation between citizenship, sustainable development and technology has forwarded a systems approach.Avhandlingen finns även som talbok, TPB-nr: CA01926.</p

AMPHIBIAN DISTRIBUTION IN THE GEORGIA SEA ISLANDS: IMPLICATIONS FROM THE PAST AND FOR THE FUTURE

We summarized amphibian distributions for 12 coastal islands in Georgia, USA. Occurrence among islands was correlated with life history traits, habitats, island size, distance to other islands, and island geological age. Species’ distributions were determined from published literature. Island sizes and vegetation types were derived from 2011 Georgia Department of Natural Resources habitat maps, which included both federal and state vegetation classification systems. Species occurring on more islands tended to have greater total reproductive output (i.e., life span &gt;4 years, and annual egg production &gt;1,000 eggs) and adults had tolerance of brackish environs. Larger islands had great­er area of freshwater wetlands, predominantly short hydroperiod (&lt;6 months). Species tied to long hydroperiod wetlands (&gt;6 months) were more restricted in their distribution across islands. Overall, larger islands supported more species, but the correlation was weaker for geologically younger Ho­locene islands (age &lt;11,000 years). While Euclidean distance between islands does not necessarily preclude inter-island dispersal, inhospitable habitat for amphibians (brackish tidal marshes and creeks interspersed with wide rivers) suggests that inter-island dispersal is very limited. The paucity of recent occurrence data for amphibians in this dynamic coastal region, let alone standardized annual moni­toring data, hinders efforts to model species’ vulnerability in a region susceptible to sea level rise and development pressure. The most common survey method, standardized amphibian vocal surveys, will detect Anuran reproductive efforts, but is unlikely to ascertain if breeding was successful or to detect salamanders. While it will not replace actual population data, consideration of critical life-history traits and breeding habitat availability can be used to direct management to support long-term species per­sistence in changing environs. Even common amphibians in coastal conservation areas of Georgia are vulnerable to increasing population isolation caused by unsuitable habitat

Road Rage and R.S. 2477: Judicial and Administrative Responsibility for Resolving Road Claims on Public Land

The past decade has seen the D-4 Caterpillar bulldozer become a significant tool for those seeking to challenge federal land management agencies\u27 authority to protect resources federal lands by reducing access. The power of the bulldozer is both symbolic and pragmatic. It cuts an iconographic image of local officials standing up against federal control over vast areas of land in the rural west. But it also, in many cases, provokes litigation, allowing claims to property rights to receive judicial attention that might otherwise evade them. Underlying each of these protagonist\u27s legal positions, if not their motivations, is a right-of-way grant enacted as part of the Mining Act of 1866: “The right of way for the construction of highways over public lands, not reserved for public uses, is hereby granted.” For 110 years, from its enactment in 1866 until its repeal in 1976, this obscure statute known as R.S. 2477 granted the right-of-way across unreserved federal public lands for the construction of highways. For most of its lifetime, the terse and obscure grant caused little stir, except for the occasional claim that now private lands are subject to R.S. 2477 rights-of-way established during earlier public ownership. Since its repeal, however, R.S. 2477 has become a flashpoint in the ongoing battle for control over western public lands and the resources they harbor. Throughout the west, states, counties, and even individuals and groups pushing for unrestricted motorized access to remote public lands are using R.S. 2477 to try to frustrate environmentally protective measures imposed by federal land managers. Some of these groups are seeking to establish R.S. 2477 highway claims in order to preclude the potential future designation of public lands for protection under the Wilderness Act of 1964. An overlooked aspect of the R.S. 2477 controversy has been the allocation of responsibility among federal courts and federal land managers--specifically, the Department of the Interior (“DOI”)--for resolving disputed R.S. 2477 claims. Whether courts or federal land managers have primary authority to interpret and apply R.S. 2477 is more than a question of mere procedure or choice of forum. It is central to the ability of federal land management agencies to administer the obsolete land grant in a way that harmonizes the intent of the Congress that created it and the intent of Congresses that have since repealed the grant and mandated the management of public lands for various uses, including protecting their primitive condition. This Article argues that federal land management agencies should replace the courts as the institution with primary responsibility for resolving issues that arise from R.S. 2477 claims. In this view, DOI should be accorded the opportunity to interpret R.S. 2477 and to make an initial determination of the validity and scope of claimed R.S. 2477 rights-of-way. The judicial role, though still substantial, would be limited to that customary in administrative law cases, namely, the review of agency action for abuse of discretion and impermissible resolution of statutory ambiguities. Agency primacy would ensure the consistency and uniformity of R.S. 2477 decisions and, if the process is properly structured, ensure that the unique problems presented by this antiquated grant are, at long last, finally settled in a manner that both permits public participation and interpretation of R.S. 2477 in the proper context of the modern public land management regime

Boundary disputes - a clash of wills or a Shakespearean tragedy?

Boundary disputes between adjoining owners and the issue of boundary repair and resolution have been the subject of dissertations for doctorates’ in philosophy to social commentary by Shakespeare. Lord Hoffmann in the House of Lords appeal court during summation in Alan Wibberley Building Limited v. Insley 1999 eloquently expressed the folly of litigation over boundary disputes when he said, 'Feelings run high and disproportionate amounts of money are spent. Claims to small and valueless pieces of land are pressed with the zeal of Fortinbras's army.

Tidal Title and the Boundaries of the Bay: The Case of the Submerged High Water Mark

The unique character and special public importance of lands bordering the sea have been recognized since ancient times. In the nature of things, shore lands, together with the waters which cover them (permanently or periodically), have a number of valuable uses not shared generally with inland territories. Navigation, passage, fishery, and bathing are among the particular uses of the shore or adjacent sea for which the public has traditionally received greater or lesser legal protection. However, this list is neither exclusive nor closed. For example, the recent avalanche of accretions to our stock of ecological knowledge has heightened (if not created) a general awareness of the economic importance of tidal areas as a source of ocean nutrients and as a sink for ocean pollutant