Willingness to Pay Estimation When Protest Beliefs are not Separable from the Public Good Definition

Public good attributes that are correlated with protest beliefs but not separable from the good's value, would affect stated preference estimates of the WTP for the public good. Survey data collected to value a program to prevent ecosystem losses on Nevada rangelands, where the majority of land is publicly owned and managed, reveal more than half of the respondents exhibiting some protest belief. Of these, about 60% voted 'yes' to some nonzero bid amount. By treating protest beliefs and opposition to the proposed program as separate concepts, we systematically analyze their determinants and impacts on WTP. In this framework, people with protest beliefs may or may not vote 'no' to all bids and people may, without being protesters, answer 'no' to all dollar amounts. Multinomial logit regression results suggest that factors motivating people to protest and/or oppose the proposed program are so diverse that a single model does not provide a good fit. We estimate nested models and conclude that different underlying processes determine WTP for "protesters" ($34.02) and "non-protesters" ($69.56).Stated preferences; Willingness to pay; Protest responses; Rangelands; Valuation of ecosystem services

Temperature-dependent changes to host-parasite interactions alter the thermal performance of a bacterial host.

This is the author accepted manuscriptThermal performance curves (TPCs) are used to predict changes in species interactions, and hence, range shifts, disease dynamics and community composition, under forecasted climate change. Species interactions might in turn affect TPCs. Here, we investigate how temperature-dependent changes in a microbial host-parasite interaction (the bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens, and its lytic bacteriophage, SBW[Formula: see text]) changes the host TPC and the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms underlying these changes. The bacteriophage had a narrower thermal tolerance for infection, with their critical thermal maximum ~6 °C lower than those at which the bacteria still had high growth. Consequently, in the presence of phage, the host TPC changed, resulting in a lower maximum growth rate. These changes were not just driven by differences in thermal tolerance, with temperature-dependent costs of evolved resistance also playing a major role: the largest cost of resistance occurred at the temperature at which bacteria grew best in the absence of phage. Our work highlights how ecological and evolutionary mechanisms can alter the effect of a parasite on host thermal performance, even over very short timescales.NER

Willingness to Pay Estimation When Protest Beliefs are not Separable from the Public Good Definition

Public good attributes that are correlated with protest beliefs but not separable from the good\u27s value, would affect stated preference estimates of the WTP for the public good. Survey data collected to value a program to prevent ecosystem losses on Nevada rangelands, where the majority of land is publicly owned and managed, reveal more than half of the respondents exhibiting some protest belief. Of these, about 60% voted \u27yes\u27 to some nonzero bid amount. By treating protest beliefs and opposition to the proposed program as separate concepts, we systematically analyze their determinants and impacts on WTP. In this framework, people with protest beliefs may or may not vote \u27no\u27 to all bids and people may, without being protesters, answer \u27no\u27 to all dollar amounts. Multinomial logit regression results suggest that factors motivating people to protest and/or oppose the proposed program are so diverse that a single model does not provide a good fit. We estimate nested models and conclude that different underlying processes determine WTP for protesters ($34.02) and non-protesters ($69.56)

Alkaloid inspired spirocyclic oxindoles from 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of pyridinium ylides

Cycloaddition reactions between pyridinium ylides and 3-alkenyl oxindoles that proceed in high yield and with very good regio- and diastereoselectivity are reported. The resulting cycloadducts have the same stereochemistry of biologically active oxindole alkaloids, such as strychnofoline

Design of a Modular Continuum Robot Segment for use in a General Purpose Manipulator

This paper presents the development of a tendon- driven continuum robot segment with a modular design, simple construction and significant lifting capabilities. The segment features a continuous flexible core combined with rigid interlocking vertebrae evenly distributed along its length. This design allows bending in two degrees of freedom while minimising torsional movement. The segment is actuated by two antagonistic tendon pairs, each of which is driven by a single geared DC motor. Modularity is achieved by embedding these motors in one end of the segment, avoiding the need for a bulky actuation unit and allowing variable numbers of segments to be connected. The design features a large hollow central bore which could be used as a vacuum channel for suction-assisted gripping or to allow ingress and egress of fluids. The design process goes through four iterations, the final two of which are subjected to quantitative experiments to evaluate workspace, lifting capabilities and torsional rigidity. All iterations are fabricated using multi-material 3D printing, which allows the entire structure to be printed as a pre-assembled unit with the rigid vertebrae fused to the flexible core. Assembly is then a simple case of inserting the motors and connecting the tendons. This unconventional manufacturing approach is found to be efficient, effective and relatively cheap

Professional boundaries: crossing a line or entering the shadows?

This article explores the professional boundaries guidance for social workers. It presents research findings from the formal literature, from agency codes of practice, from telephone interviews with regulatory and professional bodies and from an exercise using ‘snowballing techniques’ in which informants responded to brief scenarios illustrating boundary dilemmas. The findings suggest that formal research plays little part in the guidance that individuals use to help them determine professional boundaries. Similarly, only 10–15 per cent of informants made regular reference to regulatory and professional codes of practice, with an even smaller percentage quoting specific sections from these codes. A slightly larger group (15–20 per cent) made fairly regular reference to their agency's policy documents. However, a clear majority relied on their own sense of what is appropriate or inappropriate, and made their judgements with no reference to any formal guidance. Agency guidance tended to ignore the ambiguous areas of practice and seemed to act as an insurance policy, brought out and dusted off when something goes awry. The authors caution against ever-increasing bullet points of advice and prescription, and advance a notion of ethical engagement in which professionals exercise their ethical senses through regular discussion of professional boundary dilemmas

The 2005 Nevada Rangeland Vegetation Survey General Public Questionnaire and Survey of Responses

The 2005 Nevada Rangeland Vegetation Survey was conducted as a collaborative effort between the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) Department of Resource Economics and the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension (UNCE) Natural Resources Program to fulfill two roles

A systematic review and meta-synthesis of the qualitative research into mandatory personal psychotherapy during training

Background: This study addresses the thorny issue of mandatory personal psychotherapy within counselling and psychotherapy training. It is expensive, emotionally demanding and time-consuming. Nevertheless, proponents argue that it is essential in protecting the public and keeping clients safe; to ensure psychotherapists develop high levels of self-awareness and gain knowledge of interpersonal dynamics; and that it enhances therapist effectiveness. Existing evidence about these potential benefits is equivocal and is largely reliant on small-scale qualitative studies. Method: We carried out a systematic review of literature searched within five major databases. The search identified 16 published qualitative research studies on the topic of mandatory personal psychotherapy that matched the inclusion criteria. All studies were rated for quality. The findings from individual studies were thematically analysed through a process of meta-synthesis. Results: Meta-synthesis showed studies on mandatory psychotherapy had reported both positive and hindering factors in almost equal number. Six main themes were identified: three positive and three negative. Positive findings were related to personal and professional development, experiential learning and therapeutic benefits. Negative findings related to ethical imperatives do no harm, justice and integrity. Conclusion: When mandatory personal psychotherapy is used within a training programme, courses must consider carefully and put ethical issues at the forefront of decision-making. Additionally, the requirement of mandatory psychotherapy should be positioned and identified as an experiential pedagogical device rather than fulfilling a curative function. Recommendations for further research are made