Valuing the Recreational Benefits From the Creation of Nature Reserves in Irish Forests

Data from a large-scale contingent valuation study are used to investigate the effects of forest attributes on willingness to pay for forest recreation in Ireland. In particular, the presence of a nature reserve in the forest is found to significantly increase the visitors' willingness to pay. A random utility model is used to estimate the welfare change associated with the creation of nature reserves in all the Irish forests currently without one. The yearly impact on visitors' economic welfare of new nature reserves approaches half a million pounds per annum, exclusive of non recreational values.Non-market valuation, Contingent valuation, Forest attributes analysis, Nature reserves.

Önkéntesség és közösségfejlesztés = Volunteerism and community development

Dolgozatom központi témája az önkéntesség, annak mind a formális (szervezeti), mind az informális (szervezeten kívüli) változata. Magyarországon a rendszerváltás óta egy sor tanulmány született az önkéntességről, és ismert annak formális és informális csoportosítása is, e dichotómia mégis viszonylag ritkán került a kutatói figyelem középpontjába. Ugyancsak kevés tanulmány összpontosít a többváltozós statisztikai adatelemzés módszereit felhasználó ok-okozati összefüggésekre önkéntesség témakörben. Dolgozatom ezen hiányokat kívánja pótolni úgy, hogy egyrészt kiemeli a formális és informális önkéntesség elkülönítésének fontosságát, másrészt a különbségeket több tényezővel - társadalmi státus, motiváció – magyarázza is. Az önkéntesség vizsgálatának különleges aktualitását 2011-ben az adja, hogy ezt az évet az Európai Tanács az Önkéntesség Európai Évének nyilvánította

The role of metaphor in shaping the identity and agenda of the United Nations: the imagining of an international community and international threat

This article examines the representation of the United Nations in speeches delivered by its Secretary General. It focuses on the role of metaphor in constructing a common ‘imagining’ of international diplomacy and legitimising an international organisational identity. The SG legitimises the organisation, in part, through the delegitimisation of agents/actions/events constructed as threatening to the international community and to the well-being of mankind. It is a desire to combat the forces of menace or evil which are argued to motivate and determine the organisational agenda. This is predicated upon an international ideology of humanity in which difference is silenced and ‘working towards the common good’ is emphasised. This is exploited to rouse emotions and legitimise institutional power. Polarisation and antithesis are achieved through the employment of metaphors designed to enhance positive and negative evaluations. The article further points to the constitutive, persuasive and edifying power of topic and situationally-motivated metaphors in speech-making

Efficient computation of matched solutions of the Kapchinskij-Vladimirskij envelope equations for periodic focusing lattices

A new iterative method is developed to numerically calculate the periodic, matched beam envelope solution of the coupled Kapchinskij-Vladimirskij (KV) equations describing the transverse evolution of a beam in a periodic, linear focusing lattice of arbitrary complexity. Implementation of the method is straightforward. It is highly convergent and can be applied to all usual parameterizations of the matched envelope solutions. The method is applicable to all classes of linear focusing lattices without skew couplings, and also applies to all physically achievable system parameters -- including where the matched beam envelope is strongly unstable. Example applications are presented for periodic solenoidal and quadrupole focusing lattices. Convergence properties are summarized over a wide range of system parameters.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures, Mathematica source code provide

Combined Electroweak Analysis

Recent developments in the measurement of precision electroweak measurements are summarised, notably new results on the mass of the top quark and mass and width of the W boson. Predictions of the Standard Model are compared to the experimental results which are used to constrain the input parameters of the Standard Model, in particular the mass of the Higgs boson. The agreement between measurements and expectations from theory is discussed. Invited talk presented at the EPS HEP 2007 conference Manchester, England, July 19th to 25th, 2007Comment: 7 pages and 6 figure

Reliability of benefit value transfers from contingent valuation data with forest-specific attributes

We investigate the reliability of transferring benefit estimates of forest recreation obtained from discrete choice CV data and conditional on forest-specific attributes. The transfer reliability is checked against the forest-specific estimates of mean and median willingness to pay. We report and discuss the outcomes of formal tests of the null hypothesis of no difference for 26 recreational forests in Ireland, when the value transfer is based on single and double-bounded data collected at the remaining 25 forests. Contrary to the unconditional value transfers of Downing and Ozuna [6] we find that value transfers conditional on site-specific recreational attributes are mostly transferable

Implementing health promotion programmes in schools: a realist systematic review of research and experience in the United Kingdom

Background: Schools have long been viewed as a good setting in which to encourage healthy lifestyles amongst children, and schools in many countries aspire to more comprehensive, integrated approaches to health promotion. Recent reviews have identified evidence of the effects of school health promotion on children’s and young people’s health. However, understanding of how such programmes can be implemented in schools is more limited. Methods: We conducted a realist review to identify the conditions and actions which lead to the successful implementation of health promotion programmes in schools. We used the international literature to develop programme theories which were then tested using evaluations of school health promotion programmes conducted in the United Kingdom (UK). Iterative searching and screening was conducted to identify sources and clear criteria applied for appraisal of included sources. A review advisory group comprising educational and public health practitioners, commissioners, and academics was established at the outset. Results: In consultation with the review advisory group, we developed four programme theories (preparing for implementation, initial implementation, embedding into routine practice, adaptation and evolution); these were then refined using the UK evaluations in the review. This enabled us to identify transferable mechanisms and enabling and constraining contexts and investigate how the operation of mechanisms differed in different contexts. We also identified steps that should be taken at a senior level in relation to preparing for implementation (which revolved around negotiation about programme delivery) and initial implementation (which centred on facilitation, support, and reciprocity—the latter for both programme deliverers and pupils). However, the depth and rigour of evidence concerning embedding into routine practice and adaptation and evolution was limited. Conclusions: Our findings provide guidance for the design, implementation, and evaluation of health promotion in schools and identify the areas where further research is needed

Space capsule Patent

Manned space capsule configuration for orbital flight and atmospheric reentr

Pamela: development of the RF system for a non-relativistic non-scaling FFAG

The PAMELA project(Particle Accelerator For MEdical Applications) currently consists of the design of a particle therapy facility. The project, which is in the design phase, contains Non-Scaling FFAG, particle accelerator capable of rapid beam acceleration, giving a pulse repetition rate of 1kHz, far beyond that of a conventional synchrotron. To realise the repetition rate, a key component of the accelerator is the rf accelerating system. The combination of a high energy gain per turn and a high repetition rate is a significant challenge. In this paper, options for the rf system of the proton ring and the status of development are presented