Hirschmann Mobility Among Academics of Highly Ranked EU Research Universities

European universities have lost--and partially regained--key research academics to North American and other attractive university systems. EU efforts to reverse the cycle revolve around the establishment of an attractive European Research Area, within which future academic mobility--and commercial knowledge transmission--might be confined. This paper draws upon a survey of 1800 academics in 200 of Europe's most research-intensive universities to understand the principal reasons that underlie contemporary academic mobility. Mobility is conceptualised in Hirschmann terms as 'exit' from an inadequately performing university, rather than remaining 'loyal' to its existing regime or staying to exercise 'voice' in bringing about necessary improvements. The results from logit modeling of choices and options indicate clearly that academics who evidence either 'loyalty' or 'voice' are significantly less likely to be mobile. Moreover, those who are mobile refuse to restrict possible destinations to the ERA if they value better material conditions or better quality of colleagues, students or university reputation.

Stakeholder Input and Meeting Summary Report

The Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership (PREP) is part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Estuary Program, which is a joint local/state/federal program established under the Clean Water Act. PREP’s goal is to protect and restore the Great Bay Estuary watershed and Hampton-Seabrook Estuary watershed. The organization receives its funding from the EPA and is administered by the University of New Hampshire. PREP will complete its update of the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) in early 2010. The first CCMP was released in 2000 when the organization was the New Hampshire Estuaries Project (NHEP). The NHEP management committee and a CCMP project team guided development of the 2000 CCMP. This working group was made up of agency representatives, university researchers, municipal employees and board members, representatives of environmental organizations, and other interested parties. A brief update of the plan was published in 2005. The purpose of the 2010 CCMP update is to focus organizational efforts on the most pressing current issues and to anticipate needs that may appear over the next decade. The plan update is engaging members of the 42 New Hampshire communities and the 10 Maine communities that lie within PREP’s focus area. The Maine communities were added to the organization’s service area on January 1, 2008. Figure 1 shows the PREP communities and watershed boundaries; the watersheds for the Hampton-Seabrook Estuary, the Great Bay Estuary, and NH’s Atlantic coast are included in the focus area

Dismal Science: The Shortcomings of U.S. School Choice Research and How to Address Them

Pressing questions about the merits of market accountability in K-12 education have spawned a large scholarly literature. Unfortunately, much of that literature is of limited relevance, and some of it is misleading. The studies most widely cited in the United States used intense scrutiny of a few small-scale, restriction-laden U.S. programs -- and a handful of larger but still restriction-laden foreign school choice expansions -- to assert general conclusions about the effects of "choice," "competition," and "markets." The most intensely studied programs lack most or all of the key elements of market systems, including profit, price change, market entry, and product differentiation -- factors that are normally central to any discussion of market effects. In essence, researchers have drawn conclusions about apples by studying lemons. To address the need for credible evidence on the effects of genuine education markets, economists should look to simulation models, indirect evidence such as outcomes in similar industries, and school systems abroad that enjoy varying degrees of market accountability

Growing Pennsylvania's High-Tech Economy: Choosing Effective Investments

Compares Pennsylvania's high-tech economic development incentives, programs, and taxes with those of six competitor states. Includes case studies, program summaries, and analyses using a proprietary model and database. Makes policy recommendations

Working paper 25: Strategies for enhancing and restoring rare plants and their habitats in the face of climate change and habitat destruction in the intermountain west

Adopting Leopold's sage advice to "keep every cog and wheel," the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources regards "the maintenance of existing genetic diversity and viable populations of all taxa in the wild in order to maintain biological interactions, ecological processes and function" (IUCN 2002, p. 1) as a fundamental conservation goal. Such an outlook is shared by many conservation-oriented organizations, including federal land management agencies in the United States. This Ecological Restoration Institute working paper will review various strategies land managers can use to maintain one segment of the plant world - rare plants - as we experience the current period of changing climate. Rare plants may be seen as the "seemingly useless parts," but they deserve attention. "Intelligent tinkering" through innovative biological conservation and ecological restoration strategies will be necessary to provide them with the kinds of habitat they will need for their continued survival and growth

When “conservation” leads to land degradation: lessons from Ban Lak Sip, Laos

Land degradation / Soil erosion / Farming systems / Environmental policy / Political ecology / Households / Population growth / Laos / Ban Lak Sip

Comparative analysis of spring flood risk reduction measures in Alaska, United States and the Sakha Republic, Russia

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2017River ice thaw and breakup are an annual springtime phenomena in the North. Depending on regional weather patterns and river morphology, breakups can result in catastrophic floods in exposed and vulnerable communities. Breakup flood risk is especially high in rural and remote northern communities, where flood relief and recovery are complicated by unique geographical and climatological features, and limited physical and communication infrastructure. Proactive spring flood management would significantly minimize the adverse impacts of spring floods. Proactive flood management entails flood risk reduction through advances in ice jam and flood prevention, forecasting and mitigation, and community preparedness. With the goal to identify best practices in spring flood risk reduction, I conducted a comparative case study between two flood-prone communities, Galena in Alaska, United States and Edeytsy in the Sakha Republic, Russia. Within a week from each other, Galena and Edeytsy sustained major floods in May 2013. Methods included focus groups with the representatives from flood managing agencies, surveys of families impacted by the 2013 floods, observations on site, and archival review. Comparative parameters of the study included natural and human causes of spring floods, effectiveness of spring flood mitigation and preparedness strategies, and the role of interagency communication and cooperation in flood risk reduction. The analysis revealed that spring flood risk in Galena and Edeytsy results from complex interactions among a series of natural processes and human actions that generate conditions of hazard, exposure, and vulnerability. Therefore, flood risk in Galena and Edeytsy can be reduced by managing conditions of ice-jam floods, and decreasing exposure and vulnerability of the at-risk populations. Implementing the Pressure and Release model to analyze the vulnerability progression of Edeytsy and Galena points to common root causes at the two research sites, including colonial heritage, unequal distribution of resources and power, top-down governance, and limited inclusion of local communities in the decision-making process. To construct an appropriate flood risk reduction framework it is important to establish a dialogue among the diverse stakeholders on potential solutions, arriving at a range of top-down and bottom-up initiatives and in conjunction selecting the appropriate strategies. Both communities have progressed in terms of greater awareness of the hazard, reduction in vulnerabilities, and a shift to more reliance on shelter-in-place. However, in neither community have needed improvements in levee protection been completed. Dialogue between outside authorities and the community begins earlier and is more intensive for Edeytsy, perhaps accounting for Edeytsy's more favorable rating of risk management and response than Galena's