Inequality and Mobility of Wealth in Sweden 1983/84 - 1992/93.

Using longitudinal data which include real estate wealth, financial assets as well as consumer durables, changes in the distribution of wealth in Sweden are related to major changes in asset prices and in incentives to hold various assets in the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s. Our analysis of the mobility of wealth indicates that mobility is higher in Sweden than in the United States, while the analysis of who is gaining and who is loosing shows results similar to those of previous studies.

HMAP Dataset 07: Danish Baltic Catch Data, 1611-1920

Baltic fish catches, 1611-1920, derived from Danish archives. The map below gives an indication of the extent of the Baltic Sea; the 'view as map' link in the download panel at the right will show a much more detailed representation. The kml file download, when used with Google Earth, will render the extent of the Baltic Sea in detail

A multimodal discourse analysis of positioning and identity work in a leadership development practice.: A combined dialogicality and small story analysis

The paper shows an example of how interaction in a leadership development forum can be analyzed from a narrative-in-use perspective through a combined dialogicality and small story analysis strategy. This entails that a multimodal discourse analysis is conducted of the positioning and identity work accomplished in a research- and dialogue-based leadership development forum in a university setting. A micro-generic positioning analysis of the participants’ small story efforts is combined with an analysis of dialogicality involving other-orientation to show how storytelling takes place and how opposing discourses within organization and leadership studies co-emerge in multimodal interaction. Among other things the analysis shows how different sociomaterial interactional setups shape identity work in situ. The research contributes to the emerging study of organizational dialogical and narrative practices up close. It emphasizes both the broad (Discursive) and the local (discursive) dimensions together with sociomaterial aspects of discourse and storytelling, which are increasingly pursued and recommended within the fields of narrative, dialogue, and discourse studies

Information Feedback, Behaviour and ‘Smart Meters’: Using behavioural economics to improve our knowledge about the potential effectiveness of Smart Meters to use electricity efficiently

As part of the development of the European electricity grid, the EU has decided that ‘Smart Meters’ should be installed in 80% of the households of the EU by 2020. It is expected that this will lead to a reduction of energy use in the residential sector in the order of 10%. Driven by the so-called ‘Information-Deficit’ model, a critical assumption in this policy development is that provision of information, via ‘Smart Meters’, enables energy end-users to make more informed, and thus better, decisions in relation to their energy service demands (e.g. lighting). However, even if there is some evidence that feedback to consumers stimulate an efficient use of energy, the magnitude of this reduction is debated. In fact, findings from behavioural economics suggest that behavioural biases (e.g. loss aversion) and cognitive limitations restrict end-users from displaying purely rational behaviour, which in turn limits the effect (and policy expectations) of policies applying the information-deficit model. The thesis at hand addresses these issues explicitly and provides empirical analyses of how behavioural biases affects consumers’ response to energy-related information. To that end, experimental research covering eight field exercises and a Smart Meter experiment was conducted. The thesis aimed to generate knowledge about the applicability and implications of using behavioural economics to deliver feedback to electricity consumers. With due limitations, the experiments illustrate that a knowledge-gap exists, and that information can help correct consumer behaviour, but that the framing and salience of this information can affect the magnitude of the response. The Smart Meter experiment on loss aversion took place in a real-life setting where consumers actually used and paid for the electricity. Results show that the intervention group reduced its electricity use, and that those reductions were larger than those found for the reference group (for both daily and standby consumption). Compared to related research, findings revealed that reductions in electricity use were also larger than the average electricity reduction found in other studies of feedback on electricity use. As a whole, it is concluded that feedback information can contribute to efficient electricity use and thus contribute to meeting EU policy targets. However, the (expected) effects depend on how feedback is designed, framed and presented. The Smart Meter experiment indicates an enhanced effect on electricity use reduction as a result loss aversion, but further research (e.g. large scale trials) is needed for more conclusive and statistically significant results

How smart are electricity users with ‘Smart Metering’? A Behavioural Economics experiment

The purpose of this paper is to examine how behavioural biases affect consumers’ response to energy-use information provided through smart meters (SM). We take insights from behavioural economics and carry out two real-life experiments with SMs and electricity users. The experiments were conducted in Copenhagen (Denmark) to identify and assess the potential of two economic behavioural biases, salience and loss aversion. The results of the first experiment (i.e. installation of SM without further intervention) generally aligned with electricity use reductions found in previous research, and indicate that it may be reasonable to expect a reduction in electricity use in the medium-term (weeks/months) of ~5-7% approximately. Results of the second experiment (i.e. introduction of SM with and without intervention) show that subjecting participants to loss aversion and salience seems to affect their behaviour toward electricity use, as the intervention group reduced their consumption roughly twice as much as the reference group. With due limitations, the results suggest that the delivery of information to energy users needs to take into account not only its pure provision, but how it is designed, framed and presented. At all events, the results and reviewed studies strongly suggest that increased energy efficiency and energy conservation need to be addressed with a mix of policies – not only information schemes or the provision of feedback alone

Kxanuw! (Miichuwaakan waak Aweeyayusak)

Kxanuw! (I have it!) is modeled after bingo. This version allows players to practice plant and animal names, engaging listening comprehension, speaking, and visual recognition. The game kit includes instructions, a caller\u27s card, and printable player cards.https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/lenapelanguage_games/1002/thumbnail.jp

Blockchain is not a silver bullet for agro-food supply chain sustainability: Insights from a coffee case study

Information sharing lies at the core of most governance interventions within agro-food commodity supply-chains, such as certification standards or direct trade relationships. However, actors have little information available to guide sustainable consumption decisions beyond simple labels. Blockchain technology can potentially alleviate the numerous sustainability problems related to agro-food commodity supply-chains by fostering traceability and transparency. Despite significant research on blockchain, there is limited understanding of the concrete barriers and benefits and potential applications of blockchain in real-world settings. Here, we present a case study of blockchain implementation in a coffee supply-chain. Our aim is to assess the potential of blockchain technology to promote sustainability in coffee supply chains through increased traceability and transparency and to identify barriers and opportunities for this. While our pilot implementation clearly illustrates certain benefits of blockchain, it also suggests that blockchain is no silver bullet for delivering agro-food supply chain sustainability. Knowledge on provenance and transparency of information on quality and sustainability can help trigger transformation of consumer behaviour, but the actual value lies in digitising the supply chain to increase efficiency and reduce costs, disputes, and fraud, while providing more insight end-to-end through product provenance and chain-of-custody information. We identify a need to understand and minimize supply chain barriers before we can reap the full benefits of digitalization and decentralization provided by blockchain technology