UNDERSTANDING THE GLOBAL COMMONS

We want to clarify the way in which we think about the global commons, particularly the problem of global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions and tropical deforestation. We develop a policy framework in which the policy goal is the sustainability of the earth's ability to absorb greenhouse gases. The framework considers the unequal incidence of benefits and costs of particular policies. We identify several resource management regimes and suggest that management under a common property regime is most appropriate. We conclude by identifying and briefly discussing types of policies that can achieve sustainability.Environmental Economics and Policy,

LAND RIGHTS AND INTRA-HOUSEHOLD EMPLOYMENT AND RESOURCE USE IN THE PERI-URBAN AREA OF BANJUL, THE GAMBIA

As part of cooperative research program examining factor markets in peri-urban areas of The Gambia (Banjul and Serekunda) to see if they are constraining agricultural growth and employment, particularly in the horticultural subsector, the household production survey reported in this study assesses inter- and intrahousehold issues of market access and constraints to land-improving investment and productivity. Implemented in 1993, survey is highly disaggregated by plot, gender, enterprise, and type of employment.Land tenure--Gambia--Banjul Region, Vendors and purchasers--Gambia--Banjul Region, Household production--Gambia, Research methods, Rural conditions--Gambia, Rural off-farm employment--Gambia, Income and wealth--Gambia, Land markets--Gambia, Tenure types, Traditional--Gambia, Labor and Human Capital, Land Economics/Use,

Lake Michigan Salmonid Stocking Costs in Wisconsin

The costs of stocking salmonids in the Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan are estimated for 1985. Estimation procedures and costs per stocked and captured fish are presented. Fingerlings of a species were found in most cases to cost more per captured fish than yearlings. However chinook salmon fingerlings were least expensive at an average cost of only $0.35 per captured fish. Most expensive were brook yearlings and fingerlings at$12.67 and $10.14 respectively. While a full policy evaluation awaits additional research on species specific benefits, three tentative conclusions can be drawn for the Wisconsin fishery. First, the role of brook trout in the fishery should be reviewed. Second, despite difficulties with lake trout rehabilitation, the role of lake trout in the sport fishery is encouraging and may justify continued stocking. Finally, increased stocking of the popular chinook salmon may be justified if the recent problems of low capture-per-release rates can be solved.restocking costs, benefit-cost methodology, sport fisheries, salmonids, Lake Michigan, Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

LAND MARKETS AND LEGAL CONTRADICTIONS IN THE PERI-URBAN AREA OF ACCRA GHANA: INFORMANT INTERVIEWS AND SECONDARY DATA INVESTIGATIONS

The peri-urban area of Accra is experiencing a rapid transformation. A robust urban and agricultural land market has emerged, characterized by purchases, rapidly rising real land prices, and outsiders from Accra acquiring agricultural holdings for residential and commercial use. The fact that residences are being built, commercial firms are being established, and large firms are acquiring land for commercial interests attests to the ability of the customary system to enable transfers for productive activity. Nevertheless, limited or uncertain property rights increase investment costs and differential access to information in the land market affects equity. This paper seeks to better understand: (a) the land market in peri-urban Accra, (b) the process by which land held by indigenous communities is transferred to outsiders enabling the conversion of unoccupied or agricultural land into residential or commercial uses, and (c) the contradictions and frictions that exist at the interface of land transfers under customary and statutory systems. It further seeks to examine the possibility that uncertain property rights and high litigation costs are constraining commercial and agricultural investment, and to identify the economic and social factors that determine levels of premiums associated with transactions, and the duration of the customary allocation.Land tenure -- Ghana -- Accra Region, Land tenure -- Law and legislation - -Ghana, Land use, urban -- Ghana -- Accra Region, Real property -- Ghana -- Accra Region, Land reform -- Law and legislation -- Ghana, Land markets -- Ghana, Land tenure, urban -- Ghana, Land administration -- Law and legislation -- Ghana, Tenure types, Traditional -- Ghana, Research methods, Land Economics/Use,

Creative learning conversations: producing living dialogic spaces

publication-status: Publishedtypes: ArticleBackground ‘Creative learning conversations’, are methodological devices developed in two co-participative qualitative research projects exploring creativity and educational futures at the University of Exeter in England. Sources of evidence Framed by Critical Theory, the projects, one on dance education partnership, the other on student voice and transformation, sought to open space between creativity and performativity to initiate emancipatory educational change. This was undertaken over the course of five years in English primary and secondary schools, prioritising humanising, wise creativity (Chappell, 2008; Craft, 2008). Purpose This paper re-analyses data and methodological processes to characterise and theorise creative learning conversations in terms of social spatiality and dialogue. The characteristics are: partiality, emancipation, working from the ‘bottom up’, participation, debate and difference, openness to action, and embodied and verbalised idea exchange. Main argument This re-analysis theoretically adapts Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological model to situate layered engagement. Utilising Lefebvre’s (1991) conceptualisation of Lived space and Bakhtin’s (1984) work on open-ended dialogue, the paper theorises creative learning conversations as producing living dialogic spaces. Conclusions Creative learning conversations are a way of contributing to change which moves us towards an education future fit for the twenty-first century. From a living dialogic space perspective a creative learning conversation is the ongoing process without forced closure of those in the roles of University academic, teachers, artists, students co-participatively researching and developing knowledge of their ‘lived space’ together. Given traditional lethargy in the educational system as a whole commitment to changing education for better futures demands active involvement in living dialogic space, where our humanity both emerges from and guides our shared learning

How Substitutional Point Defects in Two-Dimensional WS2_2 Induce Charge Localization, Spin-Orbit Splitting, and Strain

Control of impurity concentrations in semiconducting materials is essential to device technology. Because of their intrinsic confinement, the properties of two-dimensional semiconductors such as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are more sensitive to defects than traditional bulk materials. The technological adoption of TMDs is dependent on the mitigation of deleterious defects and guided incorporation of functional foreign atoms. The first step towards impurity control is the identification of defects and assessment of their electronic properties. Here, we present a comprehensive study of point defects in monolayer tungsten disulfide (WS$_2$) grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy, CO-tip noncontact atomic force microscopy, Kelvin probe force spectroscopy, density functional theory, and tight-binding calculations. We observe four different substitutional defects: chromium (Cr$_{\text{W}}$) and molybdenum (Mo$_{\text{W}}$) at a tungsten site, oxygen at sulfur sites in both bottom and top layers (O$_{\text{S}}$ top/bottom), as well as two negatively charged defects (CDs). Their electronic fingerprints unambiguously corroborate the defect assignment and reveal the presence or absence of in-gap defect states. The important role of charge localization, spin-orbit coupling, and strain for the formation of deep defect states observed at substitutional defects in WS$_2$ as reported here will guide future efforts of targeted defect engineering and doping of TMDs

Population policies and education: exploring the contradictions of neo-liberal globalisation

The world is increasingly characterised by profound income, health and social inequalities (Appadurai, 2000). In recent decades development initiatives aimed at reducing these inequalities have been situated in a context of increasing globalisation with a dominant neo-liberal economic orthodoxy. This paper argues that neo-liberal globalisation contains inherent contradictions regarding choice and uniformity. This is illustrated in this paper through an exploration of the impact of neo-liberal globalisation on population policies and programmes. The dominant neo-liberal economic ideology that has influenced development over the last few decades has often led to alternative global visions being overlooked. Many current population and development debates are characterised by polarised arguments with strongly opposing aims and views. This raises the challenge of finding alternatives situated in more middle ground that both identify and promote the socially positive elements of neo-liberalism and state intervention, but also to limit their worst excesses within the population field and more broadly. This paper concludes with a discussion outling the positive nature of middle ground and other possible alternatives

Association of Accelerometry-Measured Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Events in Mobility-Limited Older Adults: The LIFE (Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders) Study.

BACKGROUND:Data are sparse regarding the value of physical activity (PA) surveillance among older adults-particularly among those with mobility limitations. The objective of this study was to examine longitudinal associations between objectively measured daily PA and the incidence of cardiovascular events among older adults in the LIFE (Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders) study. METHODS AND RESULTS:Cardiovascular events were adjudicated based on medical records review, and cardiovascular risk factors were controlled for in the analysis. Home-based activity data were collected by hip-worn accelerometers at baseline and at 6, 12, and 24 months postrandomization to either a physical activity or health education intervention. LIFE study participants (n=1590; age 78.9±5.2 [SD] years; 67.2% women) at baseline had an 11% lower incidence of experiencing a subsequent cardiovascular event per 500 steps taken per day based on activity data (hazard ratio, 0.89; 95% confidence interval, 0.84-0.96; P=0.001). At baseline, every 30 minutes spent performing activities ≥500 counts per minute (hazard ratio, 0.75; confidence interval, 0.65-0.89 [P=0.001]) were also associated with a lower incidence of cardiovascular events. Throughout follow-up (6, 12, and 24 months), both the number of steps per day (per 500 steps; hazard ratio, 0.90, confidence interval, 0.85-0.96 [P=0.001]) and duration of activity ≥500 counts per minute (per 30 minutes; hazard ratio, 0.76; confidence interval, 0.63-0.90 [P=0.002]) were significantly associated with lower cardiovascular event rates. CONCLUSIONS:Objective measurements of physical activity via accelerometry were associated with cardiovascular events among older adults with limited mobility (summary score >10 on the Short Physical Performance Battery) both using baseline and longitudinal data. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION:URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01072500