Social Carrying Capacity of Mass Tourist Sites: Theoretical and Practical Issues about its Measurement

Congestion is an important management problem at mass tourist sites. This essay focuses on the social carrying capacity (SCC) of a tourist site as indicator of residents’ and visitors’ perception of crowding, intended as the maximum number of visitors (MNV) tolerated. In case of conflict between the residents’ MNV tolerated and the visitors’ MNV tolerated, the policy-maker has to mediate. We consider the case in which the residents’ SCC is lower than the visitors’ SCC, and the site SCC is the result of a compromise between these two aspects of the SCC. This can be measured by making reference to two criteria of choice: the utility maximisation criterion and the voting rule. The use of one method rather than the other depends on the data available about the individual preferences on crowding. Assuming that individual preferences are known, a maximisation model for the computation of the site SCC is conceived. It represents the case in which the residents’ SCC is the limiting factor. The site SCC is intended as the number of visitors which maximises the social welfare function. Because a local policy-maker maximises the welfare of residents, in this model visitors are represented by those residents whose welfare wholly depends on the tourism sector, while the social costs due to crowding are borne by those residents who are partially or totally independent from tourism. Nevertheless, in practice, the individual preferences about crowding are not always known. In this case, the MNV tolerated can be computed by applying the majority voting rule. It is shown that, under certain conditions, the optimum number of visitors, obtained through a maximisation model, is equal to the MNV tolerated by the majority of voters.Sustainable tourism development, Tourism carrying capacity, Social carrying capacity, Maximisation criterion, Majority voting rule, Overcrowding, Mass tourist site

Effective Capacity in Cognitive Radio Broadcast Channels

In this paper, we investigate effective capacity by modeling a cognitive radio broadcast channel with one secondary transmitter (ST) and two secondary receivers (SRs) under quality-of-service constraints and interference power limitations. We initially describe three different cooperative channel sensing strategies with different hard-decision combining algorithms at the ST, namely OR, Majority, and AND rules. Since the channel sensing occurs with possible errors, we consider a combined interference power constraint by which the transmission power of the secondary users (SUs) is bounded when the channel is sensed as both busy and idle. Furthermore, regarding the channel sensing decision and its correctness, there exist possibly four different transmission scenarios. We provide the instantaneous ergodic capacities of the channel between the ST and each SR in all of these scenarios. Granting that transmission outage arises when the instantaneous transmission rate is greater than the instantaneous ergodic capacity, we establish two different transmission rate policies for the SUs when the channel is sensed as idle. One of these policies features a greedy approach disregarding a possible transmission outage, and the other favors a precautious manner to prevent this outage. Subsequently, we determine the effective capacity region of this channel model, and we attain the power allocation policies that maximize this region. Finally, we present the numerical results. We first show the superiority of Majority rule when the channel sensing results are good. Then, we illustrate that a greedy transmission rate approach is more beneficial for the SUs under strict interference power constraints, whereas sending with lower rates will be more advantageous under loose interference constraints.Comment: Submitted and Accepted to IEEE Globecom 201

Zoning Estoppel: Application of the Principles of Equitable Estoppel and Vested Rights to Zoning Disputes

Despite the historical rule that a government cannot be estopped while acting in a governmental capacity, as a local government does while exercising its zoning powers, it appears that a majority of the courts now hold that the defense of equitable estoppel may be raised against local governments in this and certain other kinds of zoning disputes

Twenty-Week Abortion Statutes: Four Arguments

The Supreme Court has never justified the conclusion that the Constitution bars any substantial regulation designed to protect fetal life prior to viability. No majority opinion has offered a rationale for the viability rule, and the arguments in non-majority opinions are conclusory or fail to distinguish viability from earlier possible lines. The viability rule is arbitrary because the capacity of a fetus to survive outside the womb says nothing about the value of the fetus from the standpoint of the state or the burden of pregnancy on the mother, the two interests the rule purports to balance. The arbitrary character of the rule is highlighted by evidence that viability can vary for similarly situated fetuses based on race, gender and irrelevant behavioral and environmental factors. Over a third of the states in recent decades have enacted legislation restricting abortion after twenty-weeks\u27 gestation. Since some fetuses at twenty weeks will be previable, such legislation offers an opportunity to revisit the duration of abortion rights. This article advances four arguments for the constitutionality of a twenty-week statute, including three based on current case law or minor modifications to current case law. First, the risks of late-term abortions are significant, and states should be allowed to adopt twenty-week statutes to promote maternal health by channeling women toward safer alternatives. Second, given the uncertainty of viability determinations, a state should be allowed to adopt a twenty-week statute to protect viable fetuses from being aborted based on erroneous findings of nonviability. Third, new state interests supporting twenty-week legislation should not be subject to the viability rule, which was developed to measure a state interest in protecting fetal life. Fourth, since the justifications for the viability rule were never explored or analyzed in detail, principles of stare decisis would support reconsideration of the durational issue

Proceeding Pro Se: Misguided Limitations on the Prison Mailbox Rule in Cretacci v. Call

Under the “prison mailbox rule,” an inmate’s notice of appeal in either a criminal or civil case is considered filed at the moment the notice is given to prison authorities to be mailed. But the prison mailbox rule originated as a common law rule––having developed in Fallen v. United States and Houston v. Lack––and was not codified in the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure until 1993. In light of its complex origins, circuit courts have split over to whom and to which types of filings the rule should apply. More specifically, courts have disagreed over whether the prison mailbox rule should only apply to prisoners entirely unrepresented by counsel––as suggested in Houston––or whether it should extend even to those who are represented in some capacity at the time of filing. This Note analyzes a recent case, Cretacci v. Call, in which the Sixth Circuit joined the majority of circuits and held that the prison mailbox rule applies only to fully unrepresented prisoners. This Note argues that the Sixth Circuit’s opinion relies on an overly wooden view of “representation,” a departure from the text of the Appellate Rules, and unsound distinctions based on the type of filing at issue. By placing misguided limitations on the prison mailbox rule, Cretacci erodes the ability of passively represented litigants to file claims and appeals

RTO Governance Structures Can Affect Capacity Market Outcomes

Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs), which coordinate delivery for over two-thirds of the electricity consumed in the U.S., are required by the FERC to employ stakeholder-driven mechanisms to establish market and operational rules. These “governance structures” set up a quasi-political process for determining which market rules are adopted and which are not. This study shows how governance systems are not simply administrative constructs but have real impacts – the details of how the market rules are made will ultimately affect market outcomes. Using the capacity market in the PJM Interconnection as a case study, we model the preferences of individual stakeholders over different capacity market designs, under different decision rules for which capacity market design is implemented. We compare capacity market design choices under PJM’s current decision system, which requires a super-majority in a sector-weighted voting context to implement a new market rule, with the decision systems used in the New York ISO and also under systems of preferential voting. This voting model is integrated with a model of capacity market clearing which allows us to demonstrate how different decision systems matter in terms of installed capacity and capacity market outcomes

Colonial and indigenous institutions in the fiscal development of French Indochina

Official revenue collections in French Indochina were low compared with most other colonies in East and Southeast Asia. This fact stands in contrast to a large body of literature that claims French tax demands were a crushing burden on many indigenous people. French Indochina is often put forward as an example of one of the most extractive colonial states in Asia. This chapter reconciles these seemingly opposing interpretations by examining the formation of the colonial fiscal state, its capacity, and the potential impact on the local population. We argue that the French colonial administration is best characterized as complex, bureaucratic, and centralized. Its fiscal capacity was heavily dependant on the expansion and growth of commercial activities. This led to significant geographical asymmetries in wealth generation and investments, and a complex system of budgetary transfers amongst the different levels of administration. French rule was, however, indirect and responded to local differences. Pre-colonial fiscal institutions survived under French colonial rule, but were not adequately recognised in the figures. This reinforces the claim that the burden to the majority of the population was greater than officially recorded, but it was unevenly distributed.Postprin

Building Judicial Integrity in China

Since the late 1970s, the Chinese judiciary has undergone a continuous reform process of professionalization and institutionalization. Despite the political constraints, there are sufficient opportunities and incentives to continue China's judicial reform so as to enhance judicial capacity and rebuild trust and credibility. It is undeniable that the Chinese judiciary has been improving itself noticeably through enhancing professionalism, institutionalization and autonomy. Judicial reform is possible because China’s authoritarian system demands for a degree of the rule of law. First, rule of law legitimizes political powers and generations of party and, without exceptions, state leaders in the reform China have invariably embraced the concept of rule of law at certain stage of terms. Second, the central government may rely on the rule of law and an effective court in particular to rein in local governments. Third, the rule of law may have proved to be the most effective mechanism for dispute resolution in the long run. The primary function of the court from this perspective is to offer efficient dispute resolution for the vast majority of individual cases. To be effective for an institution that is politically weak, the judiciary must develop a sufficient degree of credibility that it is autonomous from political and social influences, neutral to the parties before it, and fair in applying rules. China is likely to develop a judiciary that is politically submissive, but professionally capable in offering effective and fair legal solution to disputes.preprin

Reduction of Species Identification Errors in Surveys of Marine Wildlife Abundance Utilising Unoccupied Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

The advent of unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAVs) has enhanced our capacity to survey wildlife abundance, yet new protocols are still required for collecting, processing, and analysing image-type observations. This paper presents a methodological approach to produce informative priors on species misidentification probabilities based on independent experiments. We performed focal follows of known dolphin species and distributed our imagery amongst 13 trained observers. Then, we investigated the effects of reviewer-related variables and image attributes on the accuracy of species identification and level of certainty in observations. In addition, we assessed the number of reviewers required to produce reliable identification using an agreement-based framework compared with the majority rule approach. Among-reviewer variation was an important predictor of identification accuracy, regardless of previous experience. Image resolution and sea state exhibited the most pronounced effects on the proportion of correct identifications and the reviewers’ mean level of confidence. Agreement-based identification resulted in substantial data losses but retained a broader range of image resolutions and sea states than the majority rule approach and produced considerably higher accuracy. Our findings suggest a strong dependency on reviewer-related variables and image attributes, which, unless considered, may compromise identification accuracy and produce unreliable estimators of abundance

Reduction of species identification errors in surveys of marine wildlife abundance utilising unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAVs)

The advent of unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAVs) has enhanced our capacity to survey wildlife abundance, yet new protocols are still required for collecting, processing, and analysing image-type observations. This paper presents a methodological approach to produce informative priors on species misidentification probabilities based on independent experiments. We performed focal follows of known dolphin species and distributed our imagery amongst 13 trained observers. Then, we investigated the effects of reviewer-related variables and image attributes on the accuracy of species identification and level of certainty in observations. In addition, we assessed the number of reviewers required to produce reliable identification using an agreement-based framework compared with the majority rule approach. Among-reviewer variation was an important predictor of identification accuracy, regardless of previous experience. Image resolution and sea state exhibited the most pronounced effects on the proportion of correct identifications and the reviewers’ mean level of confidence. Agreement-based identification resulted in substantial data losses but retained a broader range of image resolutions and sea states than the majority rule approach and produced considerably higher accuracy. Our findings suggest a strong dependency on reviewer-related variables and image attributes, which, unless considered, may compromise identification accuracy and produce unreliable estimators of abundance